National Pub of the Year
Just as we went to print with the previous edition, it was announced that the Tamworth Tap in Tamworth, Staffordshire had been voted CAMRA’s National Pub of the Year for 2025. This is the first time since the competition began in 1988 that a pub has won the award for a third time. The building dates from Tudor times and its courtyard beer terrace has views of the town’s Norman castle. The pub is also the home of the Tamworth Brewing Company. The runners up were the Blackfriars Tavern in Great Yarmouth, the Pelican Inn in Gloucester (GL1 2QR) and the Volunteer Arms (Staggs) in Musselburgh.
The Black Cap in Camden High Street closed in 2015. Since then, a determined group of campaigners have battled to have this iconic LGBTQ+ venue reopened. I am pleased to report that they have succeeded and, after a £2 million renovation, the venue was due to reopen on 21 March. It will feature a bar, a performance space and B&B rooms. Our congratulations to the campaigners accordingly.
Worrying news about the Coronet in Holloway. Formerly a cinema called the Savoy, it was converted into a pub by Wetherspoons in 1983. CAMRA regarded it as ‘an exceptional and sympathetic conversion of an Art Deco cinema, retaining much of its original interior’. JDW disposed of it 2023 and it passed to a company called The Tollgate TPL ltd. In February the freeholder served notice on them to forfeit the lease and the pub closed. The freeholder now has complete control of the site. Despite its distinction, the building is not statutorily listed, unlike the Coronet cinemas in Eltham and Notting Hill Gate that are. It was registered as an Asset of Community Value by Islington Council on 2 August 2016 but that listing was not renewed. I have seen no reports as to its future.
A collaboration between the East London Brewing Company and the pub company Taverns East Ltd sees the reopening of the Empire Tavern, formerly the Samuel Pepys, in Mare Street, Hackney (E8 1EJ). The site is next to the Hackney Empire. As well as ELB’s own beers, there will be guests from other local independent brewers. Howling Hops and Saint Monday have been mentioned. There will also be a substantial food offering. Taverns East already operate the Leytonstone Tavern and the Tavern on the Hill, the former Wild Card pub, in Higham Hill.
Closed since 2018 and still vacant, the Grapes in Sutton, a former Wetherspoons pub, is reported to be available for lease. An article in a local paper quotes a figure of £55,000 per annum. There is a problem however in that planning permission has been granted to add additional floors to the Victorian building for a residential development. This impinges on the ground floor trading area. Planning permission was originally granted in 2019 and the most recent application was in July 2024. Work must start within three years.
◊ There has been an interesting development at the former Paxton in West Norwood, which has been closed for over two years. Owners Greene King have joined with the MOBO Group to open this imposing building as the House of MOBO. MOBO is the organisation behind the Music of Black Origin awards and their intention is that the pub will become ‘a hub for culture, creativity and connection’. This will involve live music, creative showcases and community-led events. There will also be a food offering of African and Caribbean fusion dishes. This is MOBO’s first venture of this type.
◊ Here is another example of a pub apparently just being abandoned. L’Affaire, in Wandsworth, at the Putney end of the infamous one-way system, was the original Wetherspoons in Wandsworth. It went through several short-term iterations after that, until it closed in 2019. The freehold is owned by Transport for London. There is hope, however. In a recent press release about their Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, Wandsworth Council specifically mention the site and say that they will work with the Wandsworth Town Partnership to bring the pub ‘back to life’.
Another reopening. The Store in Croydon (CR0 1BF), once a branch of Sainsbury’s, closed last August. Freeholder Brakspear Pub Company are looking for a new tenant. The sales brochure states “The Store is a visually stunning venue, located in South Croydon’s vibrant restaurant quarter. The Store combines the relaxed charm of a neighborhood pub with the polish of a modern eatery. Think concrete bar, potted greenery, and soft, low lighting. It would not be out of place in Greenwich Village, New York, or any other cosmopolitan city. It’s a stylish space that suits everything from laid-back brunches to big celebrations.” Brakspear’s beers, incidentally, are currently brewed by Carlsberg Britvic.
There have been interesting recent developments at the White Horse in Parsons Green. The pub has been refurbished by Mitchells & Butlers with some changes to the internal layout and the installation of an outside bar to serve the seating area. What was unusual was that, rather than amend the existing licence, M&B applied for a completely new one. They explained that this procedure was ‘cleaner’ and allowed for flexibility. Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee approved the application in full, saying that this was a ‘well-established pub of long standing’. This was despite some objections from local residents.
As originally announced in 2024, by the time that you read this, London should have its first Thornbridge Brewery outlet. The Wild Swan in Fetter Lane, Holborn is, as are many of their pubs, a joint venture with beer importers Pivovar. Curiously, it is said to be a replacement for the White Swan, which stood nearby, but the Closed Pubs website says that this was the site of the Printers Devil, previously the Vintners Arms, that closed in 2008 and was demolished in 2013. It isn’t. It has the same address. The White Swan, nicknamed the Mucky Duck, stood at 108 Fetter Lane and has disappeared under an office development which includes the Wild Swan.
Many pubs have resident cats and dogs but the Royal Oak in Brockham, Surrey is different. It has a resident family of seven meercats, two adults and five pups. They live in an enclosure in the garden. The nearest station is Dorking, then a walk. Simples, as they say…