Windows shed new light on Pimlico pub

The windows were then boarded up with wood, while the lower windows had thick blackout curtains drawn across them.

When Senan Sexton and John Hyland became the pub's landlords in June, they were removing ventilators near the ceiling when they discovered the extra panes behind the wood.

Mr Hyland said: "Opening up the windows has changed the shape of the building, of the room inside, purely because of the extra light.

"It's a much more pleasant pub to be in because of it, and it's made us more aware of the history of the pub."

Mr Sexton, 35, added: "It took us about two weeks to strip all the blackout paint off by hand, using a metal scraper.

"The paint certainly worked, because the neighbourhood was levelled during the war yet this pub survived."

The King William IV is directly opposite Battersea power station, which the landlords believe would have been the bombers' main target.

Jim Jackson, one of the pub's oldest regular customers at 81, has lived in the Pimlico area for much of his life.

He used to deliver beer barrels to The King William IV by horse and cart when he was around 13.

Mr Jackson said: "I used to earn 19 shillings a day by helping unload the barrels.
"Beer was rationed in those days, so it was very watered down but they would always let us have a drink.

"Despite all the bombings, the pub used to stay open when it could."

He remembers seeing the blackout curtains at the pub, but not how the windows looked before they were painted.

"It looks brilliant now, it's really light and airy. I'm glad they discovered those windows but I can't believe it's taken so long," he added.