The original building (then named The Bedford Hotel) was built in the 1870s.[1] In 1876, the pub building housed the coroner's inquest into the notorious unsolved murder of Charles Bravo, a resident and lawyer who was poisoned, possibly by his wife.[2] It was rebuilt in about 1931 for the brewery Watney Combe & Reid, and designed by Alfred W. Blomfield, in a "neo-Georgian manner, with Arts and Crafts and Art Deco influences".[1]
The Bedford has won various awards including the Publican Music Pub of the Year 2002; the Morning Advertiser Pub of the Year 2004; and the Evening Standard Pub of the Year 2002.[4][5][6]