The Lord Dudley

Sometime in the 1950s, during a British and Irish Lions rugby union game, a groupof young mates stole a portrait of William Humble Ward from the walls of a Sydney pub. It remained missing for more than half a century – unbeknown to the pub’s new owners – until a few years ago, when one of the culprits returned it.In the interim, it had moved between the friends’various houses; their portrait of Ward – otherwise known as Lord Dudley, fourth governor-general of Australia – the memento of a great night out at their local.

This anecdote is a window into the life and times of The Lord Dudley Hotel. The legendary pub, which dates from 1896, has long fostered good times and relationships that endure over years; and has provided a home for British ex-pats missing their pints and a place to watch the footy.

Nestled in leafy, residential Woollahra, itis Sydney’s go-to English-style pub (with honourable mention to the Shakespeare Hotel in Surry Hills). Perhaps it’s the attractive red-brick facade covered in ivy and with mock-Tudor style trimmings that feels familiar; or the polished wooden bar inside – handled beer mugs hanging down – and the labyrinthine floor-plan with all its nooks and crannies.

While the Lord Dudley shines in winter, it has summertime charm too. The Garden restaurant opened mid-2017, an update ofits downstairs dining area. The space’s refreshed interiors contrast against the dark, rich tones of the pub upstairs with the use of greenery, sandstone and natural light via the greenhouse-style roof.

The pub also has something rarely seen in Australia and taken for granted in the UK: drinking on the footpath outside. Come warm weather, punters and their dogs sprawl onto the pavement, schooner in hand.