On the evening of Wednesday 18 August 2021, CAMRA’s London Pubs Group held its first pub tour since before the introduction of lockdowns and COVID restrictions in March 2020. Five pubs in SE1 were visited, all of which at one time formed part of the extensive estate of the Courage Brewery.
The first pub on the itinerary was the Grade II-listed Anchor in Park Street, Bankside. The older parts of the pub retain some original internal features with a room on the ground-floor having an early C18 kitchen fireplace and some contemporary wainscotting. On the first floor, a complete mid to late C18 pine-panelled room remains. The pub was formerly the brewery tap for the Barclay Perkins Brewery which merged with Courage in 1955 and was closed shortly afterwards. Greene King Abbot and IPA plus one other Greene King beer are served here.
A short walk south then took partakers to the Rose & Crown at 65 Union Street. A typical inter-war red brick ‘improved’ public house, this is not a listed building but was included on the tour as a former Courage pub. Three changing guest ales are normally served here but only one was available on the night of our crawl.
Moving on, the next venue was the Kings Arms, 65 Newcomen Street. Like the Anchor, Bankside, this pub is also Grade II-listed and is described as a ‘public house of c.1890’. On the exterior is an early 18th century royal coat of arms (possibly as early as 1728) which was formerly attached to a gateway spanning the old London Bridge. The current inscription referring to George III is very likely an alteration; dated 1760. This pub is listed in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2021. Harvey’s Sussex, Purity Mad Goose, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Truman Swift and one guest ale are the beers normally served here.
The penultimate venue was the Shipwrights Arms, 88 Tooley Street. Not only is this pub Grade II-listed but it is also recognised by CAMRA as having an historic interior of regional importance. The left-hand entrance doors originally led to a vestibule entrance lobby. On the left-hand wall is a splendid painted tiled panel from around 1900 showing shipwrights at work beside a choppy River Thames, whilst a steam tug tows barges down the river. The painting is signed by Charles Evans & Co of Warwick Street, W1, a firm of tile and stained-glass manufacturers. The interior consists of a central island bar which originally would have been surrounded by at least three separate compartments, although the partitions were removed many years ago. Adnam’s Southwold Bitter, Charles Wells Bombardier, Caledonian Deuchars IPA and Sharp’s Doom Bar are usually served here.
The fifth and final port of call was the Anchor Tap, at 20a Horselydown Lane. This multi-roomed pub is also Grade II- listed and recognised by CAMRA as having an historic interior of regional importance. The description says that the pub dates from ‘early to mid-19th century (the pub claims 1761) and refurbished in the late 19th century’. Built as the tap to the Anchor Brewery (the former Courage Horsleydown site which closed in 1981), it was sold to Samuel Smith’s in the early 1990s. At the front there are two small bars with genuine old fittings and there is a room at the rear which may have been in pub use for many years, with what looks like a hatch for service. A corridor runs down the left-hand side of the servery from which there are doorways leading to a games room and to the lounge. This may well have been brought into public use in modern times. In addition, there are rooms upstairs which are also now in public use. As might be expected, Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Bitter is normally the only cask ale available here served from a wooden cask.
Although none of the pubs visited were still operating table service, each seemed to have their own way of reacting to the pandemic. Some prohibited standing at the bar, some operated a dedicated bar queuing point, some retained Perspex screens and some no longer accepted cash while one only took cards for transactions above £5.
In total, around 35 supporters participated on the night, all of whom I’m sure were grateful to Jane Jephcote for once again organising a successful tour.
Kim Rennie
Note: London Pubs Group meetings started again on Wednesday 8 September. Details of future meetings and events can be found on the Group’s website www.londonpubsgroup.camra.org.uk.