IT'S world renowned for its love of rugby, and now The Cabbage Patch in Twickenham has been chosen as one of the UK's most famous pubs.
Scottish based whisky brand The Famous Grouse launched a two month long campaign to find the 100 most famous pubs in the United Kingdom, looking for establishments with unique and quirky reasons for their fame.
The pub, which is run by Frank Dupree and his two daughters Elaine and Jan, got its name because Twickenham Stadium was famously built on a cabbage patch.
Rugby memorabilia adorns the walls and both club and international players can be frequently seen drinking there.
Mr Dupree, said: "I think we were selected because we market ourselves as the most famous rugby pub in the world, no one else has claimed that title anyway. People from all around the world come here and we are hugely busy on match days.
"It was given the name in the 1950's as a reference to the patch that Twickenham was built on and it's remained the same ever since. The fans do seem to like it in here and it seems that The Famous Grouse think it's a nice pub too.
"We do get some of the players in here, I've come to know Jason Leonard very well and we hold a few question and answer sessions, with some of the big players like Mike Catt and Nick Easter. We get some of the club team guys in as well. We've got a lot of rugby memorabilia all over the place, lots of signed shirts from the England guys, but I think the one I'm most proud of is the signed club shirt we got from Jonah Lomu."
Other pubs chosen in the 100 include The Neuadd Arms in Wales, for hosting Bog Snorkelling Championships, The Globe Inn in Dumfries, for being poet Robert Burns' local pub and Belgravia's Star Tavern, as the upstairs room was where the Great Train Robbers planned their 1963 heist.
Brand manager for The Famous Grouse, Linda Sooprayen, said: "We launched The Famous 100 to really pay tribute to the fantastic pubs we have in the UK. Publicans have long been supportive of our fame and we wanted to do something to celebrate theirs.
"We were very impressed with the pubs in London and were delighted to include The Cabbage Patch in the final 100."
