Sudbury Town - The Swan

Saturday 1st April 2023

The architect Charles Holden is responsible for designing forty-two tube stations. Sudbury Town would be the first I'd visit on this journey and according to train enthusiast, YouTuber and rampant selfie taker (seriously I asked him for one and he took seven) Geoff Marshall, this is the best. Not just of Charles Holden's but on the entire network. Geoff's been to every railway stop in Britain mind, so knows a thing or two about nice stations.

It is absolutely magnificent. Now Grade II* Listed, this was Holden's prototype for a modernist train station and opened in 1931 after the previous station was demolished the year before. Sitting at the end of street of early 20th century semi-detached houses, four large windows make the large brick entrance catherdralic. It is, as Holden hoped, a beacon in suburbia.

The ticket hall has been unchanged since the 1930s with its timber interior well maintained. Off to the right is a waiting area and ticket booth creating the feel of a living museum, transporting you back to travelling in the inter-war years. In the middle of the entrance hall is a wooden model of the entire station dashed in light peering in through the windows. This along with the TfL heritage plaque plays homage to the beauty of this place. On the platform signs have a slightly different typeface to that of the rest of the network, further adding to the feeling that this is no ordinary tube station. There can be few stations that you'd happily miss your train for if it meant spending more time in them but Sudbury Town is definitely one.

Walking up the hill from Sudbury Town towards Butler's Green, you arrive at The Swan. Out front are a few picnic tables which form one of two beer gardens. The flags of the Six Nations drooped from poles on a first floor terrace, two weeks on from the tournament's conclusion. We entered via the southern of two doors and immediately headed for the bar, Jack, Charlie and I each opting for a Guinness at £4.75 per pint. I've drank a lot of Guinness as part of this odyssey, and a lot of Guinness in London, and I dare say this might have been the best I've had.

On the walls were pictures of sporting stars from days of old with no obvious association to the pub itself. At the front of the pub a large bay housed a screen with Soccer Saturday projected on it as well as most of the seating which gave us prime viewing for when the pool table and dartboard tucked away behind the bar became available. It turned out they became free rather quickly. The men who'd been hogging them weren't locals, or if they were, they clearly weren't regulars at The Swan.

After getting the Australian barman on Facetime to their friends and family unable to join the pub games extravaganza, he had to explain the principle of pubs to them. The message that they weren't allowed fly some arrows and pot some balls without purchasing a drink wasn't really going through. Following the (I think) 15th uttering of the phrase "you must buy a drink" they were sent on their way. A few locals scoffed in approval as The Matchroom Mob departed.

This left The Swan eerily quiet for a Saturday afternoon with only six of us still sat around the bar, the rest lone local drinkers. That was until the arrival of Toto, the dog from Barrel & Corner in Wembley Central, with their owner in tow, taking the total number of mammals up to eight. With the barking of the crazed chihuahua ringing in our ears, we left wondering whether when all 272 pubs have been visited The Swan would still be here. For the sake of Sudbury Town, its marvellous station and the delicious Guinness, I hope it finds a way to be.