Recently my eye was caught by an advert from an upmarket estate agents asking if anyone wanted to live in an east London Pub. I was intrigued. It turns out that the pub is the former Earl Grey’s Castle in Vallance Road, near Brick Lane (E1 5BS). It is now a three bedroom house, valued at £1,256,000. It was built towards the end of the 19th century but only operated as a pub until 1926 when it was acquired by Mary Hughes, a Quaker philanthropist, who renamed it the Dew Drop Inn. It was described as ‘a place of rest and refreshment for the homeless’. It was also used for trade union meetings and Sunday services for Christian Socialists. I suspect that it ceased to serve alcohol at this point. Mary Hughes remained there until 1941 and she is celebrated with a blue plaque. There is so much history in our pubs.
The Muswell Hillbilly Brewery have opened a community pub in Bowes Park called the Hillbilly Social. As well as their beers, it will offer locally sourced spirits, wines and non-alcoholic drinks as well as providing a space for local events such as live music, comedy and quiz nights and family activities. They hope to add a kitchen in the near future, which will use locally and ethically sourced ingredients. The site was formerly a bar and restaurant. For those wishing to make a short tour of the area, the Bohem Brewery taproom is close by.
Good news! On 4 September, Remarkable Pubs (finally!) reopened the Leyton Engineer, formerly the Leyton Technical, in Leyton High Road. It was originally Leyton Town Hall, built in 1896, and is now Grade II listed.
It has been carefully restored by the same company who did such a magnificent job on the Boleyn Tavern. Members of CAMRA’s East London & City branch were there to celebrate and enjoy the three cask beers on offer. Note the display of the last five Pig’s Ear beer festival t-shirts!
The new Wetherspoon’s pub at Waterloo Station, the Lion & Unicorn, is now open. I had not realised that there is a historic connection to the Festival of Britain, which was held on what we now know as the South Bank in 1951. The Lion & Unicorn was the name of one of the pavilions specially built for the exhibition but, like most buildings on the site, was demolished once it ended. The only building that remains is the Royal Festival Hall.
The lease of the former Lady Hamilton in Kentish Town has been acquired by the First Restaurant Group who will be renaming it the Old Farmhouse, which was, apparently, its original name in 1885. The company intend refurbishing it in a ‘cosy farmhouse’ style and will be bringing the six letting rooms back into use in ‘boutique’ style. The pub should be reopening in October, with the rooms following in early 2025. In the meantime, the extended closure of the Underground station is not helping any of the pubs in the area.
The curious situation at the Plough in East Sheen continues. This has been a Fuller’s managed house for three years now but the previous tenant, whose lease the company did not renew after they acquired the pub, has obtained a court order giving him rights to a parcel of land used as part of the pub’s garden. The land was judged to be ‘unowned pavement’ rather than part of the pub and the former tenant was awarded what is called adverse possession based on his use of it during his time as licensee. Consequently he has had it blocked off, preventing pub customers from using it. The former tenant said that he expected further discussions with Fuller’s.
THIS MONTH’S COVER
Once the Freedom & Firkin (power to the people!) and more recently the Manor, the Tooting Tavern has recently reopened after refurbishment by owners Mitchells & Butlers. Whoever it is, it is always good news these days when someone spends money on our pubs. With thanks to M&B for the photograph.