{"id":6690,"date":"2026-09-29T18:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=6690"},"modified":"2026-09-29T18:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:00:29","slug":"pub-news-september-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/09\/29\/pub-news-september-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Pub news – September 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most of our pub news is given in brief in the pub information update column.  In this column I highlight some cases that hopefully give a deeper insight into what is happening with our pubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following speculation in the local press, the Alliance<\/a><\/strong> in West Hampstead, a popular community hub as well as a fine looking building, closed in July.\u00a0 There were reports on social media that it had been sold.\u00a0 This coincided with the expiry of the pub\u2019s Asset of Community Value listing, which the West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Forum (NDF) are now hoping to renew.\u00a0 It was squatted for a while but was cleared in August and the site was robustly secured.\u00a0 It is still not clear what is to happen to the pub.\u00a0 It is owned by a property company. The lease<\/a> is on the market for \u00a3100k p.a. via Goldstein Leig<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019m pleased to report that the Black Horse<\/a><\/strong> in High Barnet has reopened.\u00a0 Originally a coaching inn, dating from the 1720s, the pub closed in September 2025 because of financial difficulties.\u00a0 Until 2021 it had been the home of the Barnet Brewery.\u00a0 Three former regulars, who all live nearby, have set up a company called Barnet Community Pubs and have taken a lease on the pub from Star Pubs & Bars.\u00a0 It took some effort to get it into a fit state to open but they were helped by locals who wanted their pub back.\u00a0 Some 4,000 of them had previously signed a petition to save the pub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly however, Brendan Moore, who had been the brewer at the Barnet Brewery, passed away around the same time.\u00a0 He had originally been involved with the Iceni Brewery in Norfolk and was chair of SIBA\u2019s East Region for some years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Boot & Flogger<\/a><\/strong> in Borough, London has been added to CAMRA\u2019s National Inventory of historic pub interiors with one star in recognition of its timber interior, unchanged since the early 1970s.\u00a0 This includes a manager\u2019s office, a long panelled main room divided by three partial partitions, snugs, display cabinets and a custom-made bar counter and bar-back.\u00a0 A wine bar operated by Davy\u2019s since 1965, it does not sell either beer or spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n

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I haven\u2019t reported on the China Hall<\/a><\/strong> in Rotherhithe in a while.\u00a0 The pub is owned by Hamna Wakaf Limited (HWL), a name not unknown on these pages.\u00a0 The upper storeys have long been converted into flats but the ground floor was to remain a pub.\u00a0 In 2022 however, HWL started work on converting the ground floor into two further flats.\u00a0 They did not have planning permission.\u00a0 Southwark Council became aware of this activity and ordered a halt.\u00a0 HWL then sought retrospective planning permission for the conversion, which Southwark\u2019s Planning Committee refused.\u00a0 HWL appealed to the Planning Inspectorate in 2024 but this was also refused and the company was again ordered to reinstate the pub.\u00a0 The ground floor was vacated but nothing has since been done as regards the reinstatement.\u00a0 Southwark\u2019s planning enforcement team are now looking to prosecute HWL for non-compliance.\u00a0 We may yet be some way from seeing the pub reopen but this is a vital step forward.\u00a0 In case you are wondering if it is worth the effort, it worked with the same owner in the case of the Old Justice<\/a> nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Source: @colin_boyle_<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I mentioned in our April\/May edition that the Coronet<\/strong> in Holloway, the former Wetherspoon\u2019s converted cinema, had closed.\u00a0 It reopened without any publicity in the middle of August.\u00a0 The new operator, Florin Bogdan, told the Islington Tribune<\/em>, \u201cWe\u2019ve got a long-term vision to keep it for the local people.\u00a0 Ultimately, I believe that pubs are community hubs and that is what they have been forever.\u00a0 The baseline of these spaces is the community function that they offer<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 The pub\u2019s cask beer offering may be limited but, at least, it is open.\u00a0 Mr Bogdan also promised to maintain the pub\u2019s fine interior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dorset based Hall & Woodhouse (Badger beers) have opened a new bar\/caf\u00e9 called the Dockhouse<\/a><\/strong> in the Brentford Project development (TW8 8GP) at a reported cost of \u00a31.8 million.\u00a0 It will serve food (\u2018seasonal dining\u2019) all day and features outdoor seating for 80 people overlooking the Grand Union canal where it joins the River Thames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Once renowned as the first of David Bruce\u2019s chain of Firkin pubs, the Duke of York<\/strong> <\/a>near the Borough has been refurbished by current owners, Shepherd Neame.\u00a0 The work on the pub, which dates from around 1800, \u2018emphasises the character and traditional features of the building<\/em>\u2019.\u00a0 Sheps are looking to run it as a traditional local where everyone is welcome.\u00a0 It serves both Thai and British food.<\/p>\n\n\n

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In another investment intheir portfolio of London pubs, Shepherd Neame are converting the former Todd\u2019s Wine Bar in the basement of the Jamaica Wine House<\/a><\/strong> in the City into an \u2018events-led clubhouse\u2019. \u00a0Among the events planned are live acoustic music, beer and wine tasting sessions and cocktail-making workshops.\u00a0 The space will also be available to hire for private events.\u00a0 The pub has a long history.\u00a0 One of London\u2019s first coffee houses was established there in 1652, although that building perished in the Great Fire of London with the current one being built in 1885.\u00a0 It is Grade II listed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Further to the report in our June\/July edition, the application for retrospective planning permission at the Magdala<\/a><\/strong> in Hampstead was refused and so the owner must now return the first-floor function room, which he had illegally turned into accommodation, to its original use.\u00a0 Camden Council have said that they are prepared to take enforcement action if this does not happen.\u00a0 The operators, the Morgan Pub Company, have however said that use of the function room will be subject to staff and running costs.\u00a0 Meanwhile, the pub has had to shut because of an infestation.\u00a0 It has now reopened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u25ca<\/strong> What was previously Simpsons Tavern in the City of London will reopen in October, with bookings being taken from September.\u00a0 The traditional chophouse, dating from 1757 and Grade II listed, has been closed since 2022.\u00a0 It is now called Cloth Cornhill<\/a><\/strong> because the new owners, the proprietors of the nearby Cloth restaurant in Farringdon, do not have the rights to the Simpsons name.\u00a0 The extensively refurbished site will open for lunch and dinner, Monday to Friday.\u00a0 The ground floor grill remains, along with a pub, Amy\u2019s Bar, which interestingly, given recent controversy, will be standing-room only.\u00a0 There will be cask beer.\u00a0 The main restaurant is on the first floor and two private dining rooms have been added.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Simpsons in 2012<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Many readers will remember the Water Poet<\/a> in Spitalfields, which closed in 2019.\u00a0 Its replacement, as part of the Norton Folgate development, is a pub called Kong<\/strong> that will specialise in all-day Chinese food.\u00a0 It is being run by two well known restaurateurs, including a co-founder of the Dishoom group.\u00a0 It is scheduled to open in the autumn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u25ca<\/strong> I know that Manchester is a popular drinking destination for many London drinkers and so many of you will be sad to learn that Nancy Swanick, the legendary landlady of the iconic Peveril of the Peak<\/a><\/strong>, has passed away.\u00a0 Nancy, who had run the pub since 1971, was 96.\u00a0 Threatened with demolition in the 1980s for road widening, the pub has a striking green tiled exterior, is Grade II listed and rates three stars on CAMRA\u2019s National Inventory.\u00a0 Nancy\u2019s family have been helping out in recent years and it is hoped that they will continue to run the pub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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