The Hammersmith Ram in King Street (W6 9HW) closed its doors on 27 July, a decision taken by owners Young’s based on falling sales. It’s a pub with a long history: in the 18th century it was a coaching inn, the Great Angel, serving travellers heading in and out of London from the west. By 1786, it had been renamed the Angel Inn. It was rebuilt in its current form in 1930, then morphed into the Builders when Young’s took it over in 1966, adopting the name of another nearby pub which had just closed with the building of Hammersmith Bridge Road. In 1996, after a substantial refurbishment, Young’s renamed it the Hammersmith Ram, after the brewery’s logo. On 31 July, the freehold sale was registered to Hammersmith Realty Ltd, an arm of the Ealing-based real estate company Arora Family. Shortly after, the building was taken over by squatters and it then became a discount hardware store! As CAMRA West London branch’s pub protection officer, I was on the case fairly quickly and reported the situation to Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s Planning Department, with an urgent plea for enforcement action. This was based on both their own and Greater London pub protection policies because any change of use for a pub requires full planning permission. I was amazed to receive a response within four hours, with them promising to investigate.
Arora Family have since said that they intend that the premises will remain a pub and that they are in the process of identifying a new hospitality provider. They explained that the current occupier was introduced on a temporary basis after the squatters had moved in but, in turning it into a commercial shop, they may have acted outside the terms of the agreement.
They added, “We are urgently reviewing the situation with our professional advisers, including the appropriate steps to bring the temporary occupation to an end.” Watch this space…
With thanks to Colin Towns for the photo.
Paul Charlton
Since this article went to press, a planning application to convert to a bingo hall has been submitted. Click here to view and object.