Secret Slough : The old underground pub

· by · in Slough. ·

Did you know there used to be an underground pub under the shopping centre in Slough, Berkshire? And the shell of the building is still there. Every time you walk around the high street, you’re walking over an old pub.

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It was called the Kingfisher pub, and previously The Peacock according to former locals. It was directly under the area outside Empire cinema and went all the way under the Queensmere shopping centre, and I read somewhere that it’s entrance was outside Boots.

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I couldn’t find any sign of the pub or the entrance, as the high street has been newly paved. All that I saw was a drain.

Apparently they played rock music in this pub, and it closed in the nineties, possibly due to a fire, I’m not sure. But locals say that it was not filled in, and the pub is still there underground. In fact there are some photos courtesy of The Slough I Remember Facebook group:

Source: Harkness, N | The Slough I Remember Facebook Group

Spooky or what. I read that the room is sometimes used for training – can you imagine?! I’d be a bit freaked out.

Anyway that was my Secret Slough fact of the week – hope you found it interesting. Does your town have any secret underground pubs?

For more posts about Slough, days out in the area, latest on town centre developments etc, click here.
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56 responses to “Secret Slough : The old underground pub”

  6. I love stuff like this. In my town they have just reopened the old tunnels. They run under the entire town and were used as bomb shelter during the war. The whole town sheltered down there at one point! They used to live down there.

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    • I was Technical Manager at The Fulcrum Centre. I was appointed 18 months before the building opened and left on its final night. In fact I took the curtain up on the Opening Night in the Planet Theatre and brought it down on the closing night. I drank in the Peacock/Kingfisher frequently; it was my local.

      There was a tower about 20ft from St Martin’s House which held lifts which went up with walkways across to the main building. As you walked into the tower the lifts were on the right and you would pass them, go through another door and down the stairs which curved around to the right into the pub.

      Liked by 1 person

      • I remember it when it was The Peacock, we felt very much part of the ‘in’ crowd going there, think it was probably 1972-1974?, also remember The Fulcrum, went to see Marvin Gaye there!!

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  7. That’s fascinating – I never knew there was an old pub underneath the Queensmere shopping centre. It’ll be quite weird next time I go to think I’m walking over it! 🙂

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    • Yep, I remember a sort of phonebox size structure close to the queensmere entrance. I always would think what it was and where it lead to

      Liked by 1 person

    • The entrance to the pub was opposite Boots & parallel to the shop on the corner that was at the time OUR PRICE RECORDS.
      The pub had strippers daily, was quite gloomy & stank of cannabis.
      Now used for Fire Service training. Accessed via Queensmere service area.

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  10. Remember it well. We used to hire it for private functions on Sunday night. It didn’t open on Sundays except for private hire .

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  11. I never frequented The Kingfisher, but I remember the entrance was in about the same location as the cinema. Have no idea if the cinema is still current as I left the area a long time ago. Interesting that The Kingfisher is still there, albeit underground.

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    • Ahh okay, thanks for the info 🙂 It’s the Empire cinema now, but it doesn’t look new at all from the inside – I presume it has been there for years also.

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      • I remember the kingfisher pub went there a couple of times brings back some lovely memories of my youth

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    • Ah, The Kingfisher, an ex-girlfriend of mine was a barmaid there (1993) not long before it closed. As you came out of the Queensmere exit (opposite Boots) the steps down into the pub were right in front of you. When you got to the bottom of the steps, you would turn right into the pub (so it was directly under the space in front of the cinema).

      Liked by 1 person

  12. I worked in slough high street for years Laying paving slabs and lifting, cleaning and removing just about every manhole cover their is on the high street and I can inform you there is no secret underground passages left in existence it would have all been filled in with concrete sorry to be a buzzkill

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    • Ahh shame! I like to imagine I’m walking over a secret pub 🙂 Although the photos and stories I read about the underground rooms are from people in a Slough Facebook group, so maybe these rooms are actually underneath the shopping centre. I guess there’s a whole basement level, as some of the shops have basement floors, like Debenhams, Next and H&M. Who knows?!

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      • Sabrina hi
        My name is Jeff , I was the last landlord of the Kingfisher . I took it as a tenacy in 1990 . I can assure you some of the comments are nearly correct but some are ridiculous. The pub shut in april 1993, for the redevelopement of Queensmere shopping centre. I tried live bands but what suits one group doesnt suit another. So , to pay the bills I decided to to make it a strip joint. 1pm till 7pm Mon- Frid.
        Sorry to spoil or your theories.

        Liked by 2 people

  13. I spent many nights there back in the late 80s & early 90s. The exact location was under the pavement right outside the east Queensmere entrance (the one facing Park Street) and it extended for quite a way under the shops next to the doors, which now appears to be a Polish supermarket according to Google maps.

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    • Aha that would explain the photos of the underground rooms, they must be under Queensmere! And the rooms outside must have been filled in with concrete. So yes it would be under the Polish shop, Choice and TK Maxx I’m guessing. Thanks so much for the info 🙂

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  14. The King Fisher pub was part of the foundation of a structural pillar above it that held a stairway and sky bridge to the top of the building which the Jeweler’s shop currently resides, so the entrance is about 10 metres from the Jeweler’s entrance parallel to the main road (Slough High St).
    So your top photo was close, a bit off by 20 feet or so, while your bottom photo was on the wrong side of the road.
    I did not drink at the “King-Fisher” much (Biker Bar), though I did attend officially as a policeman, all this was back in the 1980’s

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  15. I drank in the Kingfisher for years through the 80’s and it was a brilliant pub if you loved rock music and that scene, It did have a bt of a reputation but I never saw any trouble from the regulars just people who couldn’t handle their drink, no different to any pub.
    I believe it was closed down due to their not being a fire exit adequate for the amount of people it couldn’t hold once health and safety laws tightened up, but i’ll happily be corrected. It did also have licensing issues due to perceived drug problem, again pick any town centre pub.
    I have very fond memories of that place and as stated above the entrance was opposite the east entrance to the queensmere, down a flight of steps which from memory turned right putting the main pub under the square surrounded by the chinese all you can eat and the cinema. There is a whole thread on The Slough I Remember Facebook page.

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    • Ahh thank you for sharing your memories! I wish there was somewhere like that in Slough now, sounds like lots of good nights out happened there, and I love a bit of rock music 🙂

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  17. John Hyland (above) is quite right about the correct location. It’s not used for fire brigade training nowadays but was when the pub was in use. It was dark and dingy, with low ceilings. It’s not really a secret pub though! It’s not been filled in either, contrary to another post above.

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  18. Lol kingfisher pub was as you came out the queensmere entrance thrre was a tower block office building and kingfisher was below it? If you go up to service area above jewellery shop there was a service entrance ith a lift still there! So is pub under ground

    Liked by 1 person

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  21. Just discovered this. My friends and I were part of the scene in this pub and it would br great to get in for a look. Any idea how we could?

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      • The space is still there and is used as a storage space for the Queensmere centre. I use to drink in there in the 80’s and it was full of all sorts. Punks, Skinheads, heavy metal lovers, Hells Angels…it was a decent boozer to be fair but just had a reputation for no real reason. It had an exit out onto the service deck so was great for lock ins as that is how you would leave the pub after hours. I even used to buff the floors on Sunday mornings as part of my cleaning job I had whilst at college

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      • That weird! I born and raised in slough and haven’t heard of underground pub! At the moment slough don’t have much pub/clubs. Or nice shops E.g M&S and all that.

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  22. I was born and raised in slough. I never heard of underground pub. I wish I could go under there and see what it was like or they could open it for people who like history.

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  23. I remember it well. The cinema was previously called the Fulcrum Centre which had (from memory) three live stages. The Kingfisher was indeed underground, adjacent to a secure elevator for access to St Martin’s House. Trusthouse Forte UK’s operations centre was based here. I actually played a live gig in early 1994 in The Kingfisher. Well actually about the first 20 minutes as we took the decision to pack up and walk out.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. I used to go in there in the early eighties – I really got into early Genesis as a result of the Kingfisher as it seemed to be blasted out when I was there. It was alright and of course there was a similar pub, The Target, which was underground in the old mall in Reading. I think the steps are still there that led down to it in the old Butts Centre now called the Broad Street Mall.

    Liked by 1 person

    • It sounds like underground pubs in shopping centres were a thing in the 70s, I hear there was one in Uxbridge too. Next time I’m in Reading, I’ll have a look for the steps. Thanks!

      Liked by 1 person

  25. I used the Kingfisher when I was at Slough College in the 80s wasn’t great but it was better than the union with it’s plastic pint containers. Unfortunately the only pub on the high street that would let students in, or cheap enough

    Liked by 1 person

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  27. I used to go there in the 80’s / 90’s to see the bands in the kingfisher, great place.
    Also worked for a company that carried out maintenance at Queensmere & Wellington House in the 2000’s. The rooms are still down there. Access via Queensmere SC. Went down there a couple of times as it used to flood.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I know how to get into the welinghton house it’s one of the creapest places in Slough it stinks of a rotting smell and all the rooms are left untouched but I’ve never found a way into that pub. What I think is it’s the shop next to the entrance of it.

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