After a wait of nine years, the Wenlock Arms in Hoxton has again won CAMRA North London branch’s Pub of the Year award.
John Cryne from the branch, said, ‘This is a classic story of rags to riches then back to rags and finally riches. The pub was reopened as a free house in 1994 by Steve Barnes and Will Williams and became a beacon for good beer at a time when real ale was not abundant. Then property developers took an interest and, in 2010, a three-year fight began to keep it as a pub. It finally re-opened in 2013 and gradually rebuilt its reputation for good beer and a warm welcome, winning our Pub of the Year award in 2017. Now the pub has won it for a second time under its current owners. This adds to the four awards won under the previous ownership”.
John added, “The Wenlock Arms now has an impressive array of ten handpumps selling real ale and real cider and it is, of course, only in pubs that you can drink real ale. There are few pubs in our branch area that can boast winning our Pub of the Year as many times as the Wenlock Arms. The winner is chosen by an online vote by CAMRA members. One respondent said ‘Harking back to its glorious late 90s/early 00s days as the finest cask ale joint in London (when competition was much slighter), the Wenlock Arms is once again firing on all cylinders (and all lines) as the benchmark in how to keep and serve cask, at the same time creating an inclusive, lively and convivial place to gather’. This comment is a tribute to all the hard work put in by the team at the Wenlock.”.
Samson Armett-Roughley, the Wenlock’s cellar manager, said “With these many ale taps, the ongoing pressures to pubs and businesses means the odds are against us, so it’s an honour to win this award and help keep real ale alive.”
The pub was initially the brewery tap for the nearby Wenlock Brewery, hence the pub’s name, but the brewery closed in 1962. It’s a traditional Victorian corner pub (built in 1835) with a ‘U’ shaped bar, dartboard and a piano in the back seating area. Such are its classic features that it has been used for filming, including Simon Pegg’s ‘The World’s End’. There is a simple snack menu of toasties, Pieminister pies, baked Camembert and tuna melts.
The award was presented to the pub on Tuesday 7 April. The full address is 26 Wenlock Road, Hoxton, N1 7TA, a ten-minute walk from Old Street underground station (go past Moorfields Hospital). Visit www.wenlockarms.com for more information.
John Cryne