10 of London's greatest lost pubs — and the stories behind them

Pubs, we’re told, are successful diminution successful an alarming way: London is down to astir 3,400 these days, with 34 closures each period successful 2024. This year, boozers look to beryllium warring back: this month, a revival of the Knave of Clubs successful Shoreditch was announced, 30 years aft it archetypal closed. And looking backmost astatine past year, the edifice deed of the year? Well, it wasn’t a edifice astatine all, but a pub — the Devonshire.

But pubs person ever travel and gone, their names ending up arsenic small much than statistic successful quality articles. And so, 2 years from penning the history of pub designations — What’s successful a London Pub Name? — I wanted to look astatine those places that person disappeared. Not the Spoons that person opened and closed successful a substance of months, but the historical sites that erstwhile meant something.

It’s called London’s Lost Pubs and is being published by Pen and Sword (you tin find much accusation here). Getting it down connected insubstantial meant months of trawling done pub guides from years past, including respective published by the Standard.

The stories are fascinating; astatine least, I deliberation so. Below are 10 of my favourite tales from the book, of beauteous boozers from years gone by.

A pub with this sanction has been located successful Camden since the 1750s, and by the Nineties, it was being called “the London palladium of late-night drag” successful the Standard. It was known for the substance of acts, from singers to comedians — oregon arsenic the Standard writer enactment it astatine the time, the “formidable dames not to beryllium crossed”.

It’s been closed since 2015 but was successfully listed arsenic an Asset of Community Value and a long-running run to reopen this venerable instauration is owed to beryllium realised aboriginal this summer, each being well.

By erstwhile claiming to beryllium London's smallest pub with a barroom country of lone 200sq ft, the Britannia Tap generated truthful overmuch involvement from radical wanting to spot it for themselves that owners Young’s decided to grow successful 1969. The accompanying media sum saw wry journos remarking the pub was capitalising connected its occurrence by losing its unsocial selling point. Perhaps they were right; had it ne'er changed, would radical inactive beryllium drinking determination today?

The different absorbing quirk of the Britannia is that it was lone a fewer doors distant from a Fullers pub, The Warwick, apt the smallest region betwixt pubs from these 2 rival powerhouse breweries. It closed successful 2011 and was converted into housing.

This well-loved Euston pub ended up becoming 1 of the improbable symbols implicit the conflict that raged implicit the mega transport task HS2. Run from 2004 by Craig and Karen Douglas, it became a beacon for brew lovers with good implicit 15 antithetic ales regularly available, and often scooped CAMRA awards. But successful 2012 the pub recovered itself wrong the reddish enactment bound for HS2 redevelopment of Euston and portion the Douglas’s fought hard to prevention the Bree — taking it to Parliament — yet the conflict was sadly successful vain, and the Bree Louise sadly closed successful January 2018.

Arguably the astir celebrated mislaid London pub, Charles Dickens was known to portion present (though, admittedly, helium was known to portion astir everywhere) and is said to person peculiarly enjoyed the “red hot” chops connected offer.

The Castle was severely damaged during the Blitz and replaced with a caller gathering which opened successful 1964, designed by Raymond Erith. Erith claimed the caller plan was “Georgian gothic” but the Standard preferred “Grounded Mississippi stream boat” (the Standard was right). The pub closed successful precocious 2000 and was converted into backstage flats. There is inactive abstraction for a edifice connected the crushed floor, and the pub’s sanction remains connected the broadside of the building, truthful possibly determination is anticipation yet?

Occupying a commanding presumption connected Ludgate Circus, successful the Eighties the Lud concisely featured aboriginal TV prima Dale Winton arsenic a nonmigratory DJ. Winton aboriginal referred to it arsenic “the filthiest, dirtiest pub you’ve ever seen” successful a 1996 interrogation with The Sun. It was mostly rebuilt successful the aboriginal Nineties erstwhile Ludgate Hill railway span was demolished. Forget splitting the G, Standard reviews from the clip notation challenges to portion 2 steins of brew arsenic rapidly arsenic possible. Apparently the grounds was conscionable nether three-and-a-half minutes. It closed successful the aboriginal Noughties.

An awesome Grade II listed Edwardian building, implicit with turret. When it featured successful the 1995 Standard guide, the reappraisal referenced it arsenic being determination for concealed gigs, with caller (to the time) performances from Robert Plant and Paul Young. The pub had a immense brew plot which could reportedly accommodate much than 100 people. A small aboriginal on, punters could bring their ain nutrient to enactment connected the barbecue successful the plot — bring your ain burger! It cycled done a assortment of antithetic edifice identities from the aboriginal Noughties, astir precocious being The Courtyard, which closed successful 2020.

Known for its awesome theatre and mostly ornate interior, with ample chopped solid mirrors and decorative tiling, the pub was besides reportedly a haunt of Christine Keeler, the pistillate astatine the centre of the Profumo scandal. The 1994 Standard usher paid tribute to a section called Fred, a loyal lawsuit of 50-years who regularly drank 10 pints-a-day here. By the 1996 edition, it was noted that upheaval astatine the pub had caused Fred to instrumentality his customized elsewhere. The pub closed successful 2002 with the interior gutted. Its latest guise is the edifice Mestizo. No connection connected Fred.

The astir celebrated of Old Kent Road’s erstwhile pubs. During the Sixties, the archetypal level was utilized arsenic boxing gym by Henry Cooper and was visited by a heavyweight roster of stars including Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. During the Nineties, the Standard usher referred to it successful “a imperishable authorities of crisis”, with a regular rhythm of the pub looking connected the brink of extinction lone for a saviour to look astatine the past infinitesimal earlier the signifier repeated itself. It closed for bully successful the aboriginal Twenty-Tens and is present a Vietnamese restaurant.

This aged East End boozer is simply a subordinate of a tiny nine of London pubs to person had a publication written astir it. A publication written by one-time landlord Eddie Johnson, Tales from the Two Puddings, covers his recollection of the East End successful each its Sixties glory, with tales of section villains and policemen drinking broadside by side, arsenic good arsenic its celebrated visitors, including Harry Redknapp (whose archetypal gathering with his woman Sandra was astatine the pub). The publication was adapted into a movie of the aforesaid sanction successful 2016. After 38 years astatine the helm, Johnson sold up successful 2000 and the Puddings was nary more.

The closest pub to the HQ of Daily and Sunday Mirror from the Fifties to the Nineties, and fashionable haunt for their journalists. During this era, columnist and playwright Keith Waterhouse threatened to enactment the landlady's favored chihuahua into a sandwich and adjacent got 2 pieces of breadstuff ready. It besides made a cameo successful an Eighties quality study erstwhile sacked shot manager Mark Lawrenson tried to popular successful for a drink, lone to find it wasn’t unfastened yet. Lawrenson was safely connected the Match of the Day sofa by the clip it closed for bully astatine the crook of the millennium.