Home > Essex > Harlow > Painted Lady Painted Lady
Date of photo: 1967	Picture source: John Cutting
The Painted Lady was situated at 1 The Rows. This pub was built in 1956. It is now used as a Turkish restaurant of the same name.
Local newspaper review by John Cutting, 1967
Harlow Development Corporation was created in 1947 and a couple of years later the first two houses were occupied in the area known until recently as the New Town. It seems difficult to realise that, in the space of a mere 17 years, Harlow has grown from a small country town into an important industrial and cultural centre with a population of around 70,000. The growth of Harlow has proved to be a triumph for the master plan which was designed as a guide to the building development. The phenomenal increase in the amount of traffic during the past decade has, by its sheer density, prevented the ideal of a free flow of vehicles between the various districts. In all other respects the original plan has succeeded admirably and the squalor and overcrowding prevalent in unplanned towns built in the past has been avoided. There is a distinct separation between the industrial, housing and recreational areas and, within the town, are many delightful open spaces. The High is today the true centre of the town and, prominent in the district, is the striking facade of the Painted Lady. Since the Essex  Skipper was opened back in 1952 all the new inns built in Harlow have been named after butterflies. The name, Painted Lady, seems particularly apt, for it was from observation of that species in the early part of the 18th Century that the theory of migration was based; surely the migration of people to Harlow will be a worthy study for sociologists in the future. The words, painted lady, have other connotations which apparently did not worry the worldly-wise people of Harlow. It has, however, been reported that a proposal to give the same name to a public house in the Midlands brought protests from the local parochial church council. The site of the Painted Lady in the town centre rounds off the market square shopping precinct which is the main approach from the north. A feature of this area is the first floor terrace which stretches into the square itself. The restaurant and the terrace bar of the inn may be approached from this level which also provides an open-air sitting out space. At one time on the ground floor there were three bars in addition to the off-licence department but the avenue and market bars have now been combined to form one large comfortable lounge. A decorative picture on the wall is a reproduction of the famous painting by Degas, 'Danseuses ajustant leurs chaussons.' In all the bars are coloured plates illustrating various species of butterflies while on the wall of the restaurant are cases containing several hundred butterflies and moths ranging from exotic tropical insects to native tiger moths. An unusual feature in the bar is a recruiting post designed by the Westminster Wine Company to attract managers into its service. In the spacious restaurant, lunches are served every day while the room is available for wedding receptions, dinner dances and similar functions. The Painted Lady is managed by the Westminster Wine Company on behalf of the brewery. The present manager and licensee is Tom Fogg who, together with Isobel, his wife, have lived in Harlow for the past two years after previous experience in Both The White Lion, Putney, and The Swan at Northolt. Isobel somehow manages both to supervise the running of the restaurant and to look after her two very young children. The inn sign on the terrace is outstanding. On one side there is a picture of 'Vanessa Cardui' in all her ethereal glory while on the other a more mundane Painted Lady, dressed in furs and furbelows, looks down invitingly. 'No doubt she is thinking that it is better to be beautiful than to be good.'
Brewers: Watney Combe Reid & Company Ltd
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