The mate whose Stag weekend I was on, (sadly now RIP) was a prolific Carp angler and used to run a big Tackle shop in Staines. He arranged the weekend, I didn't have any gear (was only there for the Beer!) but used his occasionally over the weekend.
It was a private lake, and no mention was made of needing a licence. I see the point of having a licence for River, Canal, and similar, but if you're fishing on a Lake owned by a private person, I don't see the need? Anyway, that was about 30 years ago!