notHamilton - Pub diary

New Inn

2009-08-31T14:45:00.001+01:00

Name: New Inn
Age: 17th Century inn
Location: Blagdon, Somerset
Information: At the foot of the Mendips with spectacular views of Blagdon Lake from the rear. Good quality home cooked meals and traditional ales.

Captains Cabin

2009-08-17T19:39:00.002+01:00

Name: Captains Cabin
Age:
Location: 4-7 Norris Street, London
Information: The present “Captain’s Cabin” is on the site of an 18th century coaching inn named the “Cock Tavern”. It later became known as the “Punch House” when the proprietors began to specialise in old English punch.
The present name of the pub is derived from the use of nautical names for different areas of the house over years gone by i.e. The Mess Deck, Quarter Deck, Crows Nest, Fo’Castle and the Captain’s Cabin itself. The pub became so popular that the entire house became known as the “Captain’s Cabin”.

Windsor Castle

2009-06-12T18:52:00.000+01:00

Name: Windsor Castle
Age: 1800s
Location: 114 Campden Hill Road, Kensington
Information: Dated back to the 1800's it was mainly frequented by farmers taking their livestock to Notting Hill on market days. Steeped in history, and in the summer months, ivy The Windsor Castle is a regular haunt of Old Etonians and simply adored by youngsters alike.

Ship and Shovell

2009-06-02T20:01:00.001+01:00

Name: Ship and Shovell
Age: 1800s
Location: 2 - 3 Craven Passage, Charing Cross
Information: Two pubs opposite one another, each with the same name and sign - both pubs are connected by a cellar which runs beneath the street. To add to the quirkiness is the name, Shovell with two L's. Ship and Shovel is not that unusual as a pub name, but here there's a ship but the Shovell is a man. Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovell died with 900 of his crew in 1707 when his ship 'Association' was wrecked off the Isles Of Scilly, due to navigation error.

Hobgoblin

2009-05-21T18:54:00.000+01:00

Name: Hobgoblin
Age: ?
Location: Angel, London
Information:

The Chequers

2009-05-17T14:31:00.001+01:00

Name: The Chequers
Age: 1634
Location: Fowlmere near Cambridge
Information: In 1634 Fowlmere was devestated by a fire which destroyed many buildings but The Chequers was damaged but remained habitable. During the sixteenth century the Inn doubled as a chapel of rest for the coffins journeying between London and Cambridge. It was frequented by bombers in the first world war.

The Spaniards Inn

2009-05-03T17:28:00.001+01:00

Name: The Spaniards Inn
Age: 1584
Location: Spaniards Road, Hampstead Heath
Information: Built in 1585 as a tollgate inn on the Finchley boundary, the Spaniards formed the entrance to the Bishop of London's estate - an original boundary stone from 1755 can still be seen in the front garden. These boundaries are still relevant today - the pub is in Barnet and the tollhouse is in Camden, both are now listed buildings and traffic is reduced to one lane between the two.

The Crown

2009-04-25T22:40:00.000+01:00

Name: The Crown
Age: Built in the 1670s
Location: 64 Brewer Street, London
Information: It's present name commemorates the breweries that once existed on the north side of the street in the 18th century. The pub itself stands on the site of the Hickford Rooms, which were the main concert halls of the 1740s and 1750s, and where a nine year old Mozart once gave a recital in 1765. It was also popular amongst American Airmen during the Second World War.

Dog and Duck

2009-04-25T21:56:00.000+01:00

Name: Dog and Duck
Age: 1897
Location: 18 Bateman Street, Soho
Information: This Grade II Listed corner pub has changed little since Orwell hung out here in the 1940s. From floor to ceiling virtually every inch of wall space is covered in tiles or mirrors, reminiscent of a Victorian butchers or grocers shop. The front bar is tiled to dado level with plain and ornamental tiles, some depicting a dog holding a duck in its mouth. Above this, large mirrors in mahogany frames, advertise mineral water and cigarettes. These are separated by columns of decorative tiles. The back bar has even more tiles, arranged to make decorative panels.
The current pub was built in 1897 on the site of a previous pub of the same name, built in 1734 in the grounds of the Duke of Monmouth's mansion. Locals included Constable and Mozart.

The Cambridge

2009-04-25T21:10:00.000+01:00

Name: The Cambridge
Age: 1887
Location: 93 Charing Cross Rd, London
Information: Lying on the corner of Charing Cross Road on Cambridge Circus, the Cambridge was originally built in 1887 and was known for a time as the "The King's Arms", after a tavern that had stood on the same site since 1744.

The Three Greyhounds

2009-04-25T20:34:00.001+01:00

Name: The Three Greyhounds
Age: licensed premises since 1847
Location: 25 Greek Street, Soho
Information: The pub's name derives from the dogs that were used to hunt hares here, when Soho was an open hunting ground. The name "Three Greyhounds" was first recorded at this site in 1927, although licensed premises have existed here since 1847. Greek Street itself dates back to the 1670s and is named after the Greek Church, which stood in Hog Lane.

The Black Horse

2009-04-25T19:50:00.000+01:00

Name: The Black Horse
Age: Land owned since 1684
Location: 6 Rathbone Place
Information: The Black Horse is situated on Rathbone Place, so named after Captain Thomas Rathbone, a local noble gentleman whose family have owned land and property here since 1684. The street itself has been home to many famous names, including the renowned artist John Constable. The pub itself has certainly seen its share of famous people too, not least the social revolutionist Karl Marx who once addressed a gathering here.

Tottenham

2009-04-25T19:22:00.000+01:00

Name: Tottenham
Age: 1790
Location: 6 Oxford Street, London
Information: The Tottenham has occupied the same site on Oxford Street since at least 1826. The present building appears to date from 1790 and it is architecturally linked to No. 4 Oxford Street. An alleyway known as Bozier's Court used to separate the pub and the adjoining building to the east, but this was demolished in about 1900 and the present frontage was established. The Tottenham is also the last remaining pub on Oxford Street.

Princess Louise

2009-04-25T18:36:00.000+01:00

Name: Princess Louise
Age: 1872
Location: 208 High Holborn, Holborn
Information: Grade II-listed Victorian gin palace. Named in honour of Queen Victoria's fourth daughter, the Princess Louise was refitted in 1891 by architect Arthur Chitty.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

2009-04-25T17:41:00.000+01:00

Name: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Age: 1538
Location: 145 Fleet Street, City of London
Information: It was well known in the 17th century and many pubs have previously occupied this site, one of them, the Horn Tavern is recorded in 1538. The earliest incarnation was a guest house belonging to a 13th century Carmelite Monastery, the pub's vaulted cellars are thought to belong to that building. The pub was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and rebuilt the following year.
Volumes of visitors books were kept and signatories include Ambassadors, Prime Ministers and Royalty. Unfortunately these records began after the likes of Dr. Johnson, James Boswell, Voltaire, Thackeray and of course Charles Dickens (originally a Fleet St. journalist) drank here.

The Black Friar

2009-04-25T16:53:00.001+01:00

Name: The Black Friar
Age: 1875
Location: 174 Queen Victoria Street, Blackfriars
Information: It was built in 1875 near the site of a thirteenth century Dominican Priory, which gives the area its name and was the inspiration for the pubs design. Three low arches lead into a smaller bar which is like a chapel, this was added after the First World War. Below a beautiful arched mosaic ceiling, are mottos of wisdom, such as, 'finery is foolery' and 'don't advertise, tell a gossip'.

The Anchor

2009-04-25T15:56:00.000+01:00

Name: The Anchor
Age: 1676
Location: 34 Park Street, Borough
Information: The Anchor was rebuilt in 1676 after fire devastated the area. The pubs original structure has been added-to over the centuries, creating a maze of odd little beamed rooms. It was from this pub that Samuel Pepys witnessed the awesome destruction of the Great Fire of London in 1666. He describes the dreadful heat and "fire drops" falling on him whilst in a boat on the river. He sought refuge in "a little alehouse on bankside ..and there watched the fire grow".

The George Inn

2009-04-25T15:25:00.001+01:00

Name: The George Inn
Age: 1542
Location: Borough High Street, Borough
Information: London's only surviving galleried coaching inn, The George was rebuilt in 1676, after a devastating fire swept Southwark. Shakespeare drunk there.

The Lord Aberconway

2009-04-25T14:27:00.000+01:00

Name: The Lord Aberconway
Age: 19th century
Location: 48 Charing Cross Road, London
Information: Haunted with the spirits of those who died in the great fire of 1666. Rebuilt in the 19th century and named in memory of the last chairman of the old metropolitan railway, The Lord Aberconway.

The White Hart

2009-04-25T14:12:00.000+01:00

Name: The White Hart
Age: 1480
Location: 121 Bishopsgate, London
Information: Located just outside one of the great Roman and Medieval gateways of the old walled City of London, it is thought the White Hart may have served as a hostelry as far back as 1246.

Town of Ramsgate

2009-04-25T13:21:00.003+01:00

Name: Town of Ramsgate
Age: Built in 1688
Location: 62 Wapping High Street, Wapping
Information: Men pressed ganged into serving on ships and convicts destined for transportation to the Colonies, were held in cellars at the pub. Execution Dock was situated nearby, the condemned were hanged then chained to posts in the river, the tide rising over them three times before their bodies were removed. It was on Wapping Old Stairs, in 1688, that Judge Jeffries (the Hanging Judge) was captured whilst trying to flee the country dressed as a sailor.

Prospect of Whitby

2009-04-25T12:43:00.000+01:00

Name: Prospect of Whitby
Age: Built in 1543
Location: 57 Wapping Wall, Wapping
Information: In the seventeenth century it had a reputation as a meeting place for smugglers and villains, and became known as 'Devil's Tavern'. A fire gutted the Devil's Tavern in the eighteenth century. It was rebuilt and renamed the Prospect of Whitby, after a ship that was moored nearby.
Has original flagstone floor and a wonderful pewter bar.
The noose hanging outside is a reference to one of its most famous customers - 'Hanging' Judge Jeffreys.

The Grapes

2009-04-25T11:52:00.003+01:00

Name: The Grapes
Age: Built 1720, site dates back to 1583
Location: Narrow Street, Limehouse
Information: A riverside pub with a history of watermen taking drunks from the pub, drowning them in the river, then selling their corpses for medical dissection.
Charles Dickens knew this pub well. As a child, he was made to stand on a table and sing to the customers. As an adult, he immortalised it as the Six Jolly Fellowship Porters pub in Our Mutual Friend.

Hole in the Wall

2009-04-10T19:39:00.001+01:00

Name: Hole in the Wall
Age: Circa 1540
Location: Torquay
Information: Torquay's Oldest Inn. For hundreds of years the smugglers men of the sea, businessmen, locals, visitors alike have enjoyed drinking at the Hole in the Wall

The Rose and Crown

2009-04-04T18:22:00.001+01:00

Name: The Rose and Crown
Age: 1700's
Location: Old Park Lane, Mayfair
Information: The most haunted pub in London, because prisoners headed for Tyburn gallows were often incarcerated in the cellars here overnight.

The Pontefract Castle

2009-04-04T15:55:00.000+01:00

Name: The Pontefract Castle
Age: Built between 1719 and 1746
Location: Wigmore Street, Marylebone
Information: The Pontefract Castle on Wigmore Street got its name like many other buildings, streets and squares in Marylebone. They are name after the people who built up the area, the estates they held and their family titles. The Duke of Newcastle had held Pontefract Castle in West Yorkshire for the King in 1642 during the English civil war and it was John Cavendish Holles, Duke of Newcastle who had begun building the area of Marylebone in 1708.

The Salisbury

2009-02-13T19:13:00.000Z

Name: The Salisbury
Age: 1899
Location: Grand Parade, Green Lanes
Information: Open as the Salisbury Hotel and too 'exclusive' to include a public house. It was the grandest building on Grand Parade - huge and impressive with a large billiard room, restaurant and concert hall. It lost its grandeur as its fortunes slowly declined along with the rest of Harringay by the 90's. Refurbed in 2003.

Hoop and Toy

2009-02-07T17:01:00.002Z

Name: Hoop and Toy
Age: 1926.
Location: Thurloe Place, South Kensington
Information: The current building dates back to 1926 but there has been a licensed establishment on this site since 1760.

Old Thatch Tavern

2009-02-01T14:52:00.000Z

Name: Old Thatch Tavern
Age: pub since 1623
Location: Greenhill St, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Information: One of the oldest pubs in Stratford. The only thatched building in the town. After a spate of fires in the town, a town ruling stipulated any building with a thatched roof that caught fire had to be replaced with a tiled roof.

The Porcupine

2009-01-17T03:00:00.000Z

Name: The Porcupine
Age: 1725
Location: 48 Charing Cross Road, London
Information: This pub has an almost complete list of landlords, dating back to 1729. In 1822, a gang of thieves came here to reward themselves with a drink after robbing the house of Lord Ashbrook. They gave their safe-cracking equipment to the landlord for safekeeping & were soon apprehended.