{"id":4692,"date":"2024-07-30T10:12:33","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T10:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=4692"},"modified":"2024-07-30T10:12:33","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T10:12:33","slug":"a-visit-to-some-wapping-great-pubs-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2024\/07\/30\/a-visit-to-some-wapping-great-pubs-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"A visit to some Wapping great pubs (part two)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is a continuation of the pub walk which I began in the previous edition and which started on the fringes of the City of London, east of the Tower of London. This was undertaken as a social by members of CAMRA\u2019s Central Southern region on a Saturday in January, having been researched in the previous December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first part concluded at the Town of Ramsgate next to the Thames on Wapping High Street. From there it\u2019s not far to the Captain Kidd<\/a><\/strong>, a Samuel Smith\u2019s pub housed in a grade II-listed former coffee warehouse converted in the 1980s. Unlike many Sam Smith\u2019s pubs in central London, the Captain Kidd deigns to serve real ale, albeit the familiar choice of one; their Old Brewery Bitter. I had a half, although it\u2019s not one of my favourites. This view seemed to be shared by many from the regional CAMRA social who chose from Sam Smith\u2019s more interesting bottled selections. Several of them headed for the pub\u2019s wintery, windswept, Thameside terrace, possibly hoping to use their new-fangled electronic devices such as mobile phones, which are banned in all Sam Smith\u2019s pubs. Or maybe they just wanted to swear (also banned).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A much more traditional venue was next on our list, just off Wapping Green and a slight detour away from the river. Turner’s Old Star<\/a> is described in the excellent East End Pubs, (written by Alistair von Lion, with excellent photography and published last year by Hoxton Mini Press) as \u201ca nostalgic viewpoint into the cosy old ways of East End traditional pubs.\u201d Converted from two pre-industrial cottages and once owned by painter JMW Turner, the pub is an archetypical family-run, London street-corner local, complete with pool table and racing on the TV.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A hospitable welcome is given to regulars and visitors alike. The locals didn\u2019t seem to mind a sudden influx of CAMRA types taking over half their pub, albeit briefly and, by this point, very convivially. It’s also a free house, which meant that, on our visit, it featured three ales from Southwark Brewing Company, brewed a stone\u2019s throw across the river. I sampled their Nelson\u2019s Gold and Mayflower Session IPA. On my previous visit, Heritage Brewery Happy as Larry, Charrington Oatmeal Stout and Milestone Rich Ruby Red Ale were available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the way to the next pub is the Wapping Tavern<\/a> on Wapping Lane, a temple to the evil keg; it has twenty taps of craft beer and no real ale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A half mile stroll in the direction of Canary Wharf, past the many warehouses and dock buildings converted into yuppie flats and gated communities, brought us to the Prospect of Whitby<\/strong><\/a> on Wapping Wall. The pub is probably the best known of any east London pub on the River Thames and is very popular with tourists although this is for good reason. It is exceptionally old and well preserved. East End Pubs declares it to be \u201cA celebrated classic\u2026 a pub of great riches\u2026 it is essential to explore all the nooks and crannies. [It has] a rare pewter-topped concave bar\u2026 the eighteenth-century upstairs bar\u2026 has existed since 1520 with an original floor and 19th century fa\u00e7ade\u2026 a gallows stands in the river by the outside deck\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Why on earth is it named after a coastal town in Yorkshire you may ask? Apparently, it takes its name from a coal boat that used to unload nearby at London docks. It\u2019s usually a decent ale venue. On my research visit I found Portobello Chestnut Ale, Twickenham Winter Start and Forest Road Ride Pale Ale on handpump. However, this Greene King pub couldn\u2019t slake the thirst of a sudden onslaught of thirty-odd CAMRA members and the choice was temporarily reduced to two ales. I managed to order one of the last pints of Southwark Brewing Company\u2019s Potters’ Fields Porter although, sadly, its lack of condition confirmed its end of the barrel status. As we left some new ales were being pulled through and a wider choice was restored.<\/p>\n\n\n

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On offer at the Prospect<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There\u2019s further history to explore en route to the final pub because it\u2019s on the other side of the river. There are no bridges below Tower Bridge, a mile or so upstream, and the ferries from Wapping Old Stairs (next to the previously visited Town of Ramsgate) ceased centuries ago. Consequently, to the excitement of many CAMRA members, getting there involves a train using a very old railway. The Overground line from Rotherhithe (since named the Windrush Line) uses the Thames Tunnel, which was built by Mark Brunel and his son, Isambard, between 1825 and 1843. It is the first tunnel in the world to have been constructed beneath a navigable river.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Mayflower<\/a> <\/strong>is on the south bank of the River Thames, a short walk from Rotherhithe Overground station. Despite its south east London location, it\u2019s also on the itinerary of many a tourist. I found a queue of impatient punters waiting outside at five to twelve on a January Saturday morning and they weren\u2019t all CAMRA members waiting for a beer. The Mayflower\u2019s attraction for many American visitors is that it was built at the place from which its namesake ship departed for the American colonies in 1620, conveying the Pilgrim Fathers. But don\u2019t let that put you off. It\u2019s a marvellous pub that ticks all the CAMRA boxes: great location, steeped in history, an olde world cosy interior and, most importantly, six excellent real ales on tap. On each of two occasions I visited, I sampled several excellently kept examples: Blackfriars Black IPA, Kent Nectaron, Brockley Brewery Red Ale, Chop & Change from Vocation (an unusual draught beer from this brewery), Treebox from Park Brewery and a lovely dark oatmeal stout, Flapjack, from Cellar Head Brewing Company. There\u2019s certainly a nautical theme inside the pub. The interior has low beams and wooden floors that resemble a seventeenth-century sailing ship. Outside there is a seating area on a jetty overhanging the Thames. Rather surprisingly, especially as CAMRA considers it of regional interest, the interior only dates back to 1957, although there\u2019s been a pub on the site since before the Pilgrims sailed.
The Puritans probably wouldn\u2019t have enjoyed the real ale on offer as much as us CAMRA types did. Nevertheless, this detour across the river is a fine way to round off this tour through a fascinating, historic and, in parts, fast changing part of London.
Mike Clarke<\/em><\/strong>
(An account of the same walk has previously appeared in Swan Supping, the magazine of CAMRA\u2019s Aylesbury Vale and Wycombe branch.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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