Locals: An Illustrated Ode to London’s Pubs

Lydia Wood

Three years ago, illustrator Lydia Wood set about drawing every single pub in London (all 3,500 of them). Noticing the increase in their closures, Lydia began immortalising these buildings and their tiny details through intricate pencil illustrations which sparked the attention of a devoted online following.

In Locals, Lydia takes us to a selection of sixty much-loved pubs of London, showcasing their shared charm: from pubs shrouded in luscious greenery to those sat on the river's edge, the Thames' murky water tickling the toes of punters. We meet a pub cat called Beyonce, wander to taverns tucked away in shadowy alleyways and find our way to six different Coach & Horses.

Alongside the illustrations are Lydia's own stories of drawing these establishments, her personal connection to each pub and the history she has gathered along the way, helping the reader fall in love with pencil drawings and the universal joy of a clear, lifelong artistic mission.

Locals is an ode to pubs but also to London, to its architecture and alleyways, its magic and mystery, its history, community and legacy - to these buildings of communion and tradition and the people that keep them alive. And to the way a place can reveal itself to you if you sit, look and listen.