In centuries past, a Hand of Glory was the severed hand of a hanged man. It was said to possess sleep- or paralysis-inducing powers and was used as a candle holder or its outstretched digits were themselves lit as candles.

In 2014, the gruesome custom gives its name to the Hand of Glory pop-up bar in East London, which celebrates British folk culture with ‘deadly ciders’ and pagan-inspired decor. Its stated aim is to “bright the cheeks an’ warm the heart”.

It has taken up temporary residence at 240 Amhurst Road, Hackney, in a building with a liquor-serving history that dates back to the 1800s, when the area was mainly fields and farmland. With an exterior lick of matt black paint, and a generous touch of field and farmland inside, Hand of Glory pitches itself in the territory of The Wicker Man.

“Inside, the wall lights are adorned with woven wicker animal heads, boughs of hops hang from the roof beams and London Plane tree branches adorn the ceiling above the bar”

Inside, the wall lights are adorned with woven wicker animal heads, boughs of hops hang from the roof beams and London Plane tree branches adorn the ceiling above the bar. In one corner of the room stands a witch’s broom, its shaft wrapped in red and white ribbon: a pagan fertility symbol. The adjacent corner is presided over by a large straw bear, while ghostly white horse skulls with sparkly bauble eyes and floral and fabric manes are perched around the room.

The door to the bathrooms is covered in belt buckle-like brass icons, and the corner pillar of the bar is wrapped in multi-coloured maypole ribbons that fan out over two walls of the L-shaped room. Pagan festival books and pamphlets from the villages that still keep the rituals alive are dotted around, alongside art by those who take inspiration from them; this includes a cabinet of curious headdresses and fascinators featuring bird wings and even a lizard.

It is all the brainchild of JaguarShoes Collective, a Shoreditch-based media, arts and hospitality enterprise. “Hand of Glory unites a collective of artists in a melange of pagan festivals, traditional iconography and folkloric customs ranging across the history of the British Isles,” says JaguarShoes Collective spokesperson, Pasha Jacobs. “It’s mulled, spiced and dangerously home-brewed.”

Those brews range from quality teas and coffees, to countryside ciders from producers including Thatchers, Gwynt y Ddraig and Westons. There are cask ales from local micro-breweries including Crate, Five Points and Kernel, and artisanal gin. There’s also a changing menu of seasonal cocktails and a house smoked Bloody Mary made to a top secret recipe. Cider can be quaffed by the earthenware flagon-load.

Table centrepieces include salt and garlic filled jars sprouting feathers, bones, lichen-covered twigs, rosemary and Nigella flower seed pods. And food orders – fulfilled by chef Mark Edwards, well known for the Austrian street food concept, Fliesch Mob – are assigned by logs painted with numbers.

Behind the bar stands a wax hand, fingers outstretched, wicks sprouting from each digit, in a nod to the pub’s namesake. Hand of Glory was initially slated for a four-month stint on Amhurst Road, flexible to six months, but popularity could see its stay extended.

“We’re delighted by how busy we’ve been in our first few weeks,” says Pasha, and after the initial time period is up, “who knows?”

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Amy Freeborn is a writer, website editor and keen photographer living in London. She likes music, alt- and pop-culture, cheese and cider, and wears a lot of amethyst. Amy tweets @amyfreeborn and posts all her words and pictures at www.thefreeborntimes.com.

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