Waterloo pub crawl

April 24: This post is the third and final instalment of a photograph series based on The Pubs of North Lambeth by Peter Walker, published in 1989, and it covers boozers around Waterloo. Once again I set off on my bike to see how the area’s pubs had changed in the 21 years since the book was published and once again not a drop passed my lips.Anchor and Hope, 36 The Cut, London SE11.Pre-1801, rebuilt 1936, extended 1982. “An excellent start to the list of North Lambeth pubs,” wrote Walker, who described the pub as well-appointed and praised it for its {nice beer, nice prices, nice staff.” Now it is a hugely popular gastropub, praised by critics such as Giles Coren and a magnet for foodies from all over London. It still sells beer, though wine is the tipple of choice for most diners.Duke of Sussex, 23 Baylis Road, London SE1. Pre-1810, rebuilt 1924. Walker commended tis as “a nice family house”, noting that the saloon has “quite a continental atmosphere”. Little has changed at this pub and amen for that. The beer, my informants tell me, is good and reasonably priced, the staff friendly and the clientele an eclectic mix of locals, theatre-goers and tourists.Florence Nightingale, 199 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1. Built circa 1965 as the Pillbox, renamed circa 1974 the Geoffrey Chaucer, again renamed 1982. Dismissed by Walker as “one of Lambeth’s newer and more tasteless pubs”. I never went into this pub as both the location and the architecture were wrong. I wasn’t the only one to make this call as it has been shut for a while and is now scheduled for demolition.Hercules, 2 Kennington Road, London SE1. 1758 (?), rebuilt circa 1850. “Spoilt externally by amputation of the top cornice a few years ago,”wrote Walker, with “an amusing variety of entrance doors to former bars of different classes” though the pub by 1989 had just one bar. The upstairs function room “once famous for its entertainment is now reputed to be a posers’ disco.” Reinvention as Kiplings failed to inject life into the pub and the premises have been home to a succession of Chinese restaurants in recent years.
Hole in the Wall, 5 Mepham Street, London SE!. Opened circa 1910 as a beerhouse. “A rumbustious two-bar resort of real-ale cognoscenti,” according to Walker, who claimed that “musicians practicing Brahms and Liszt during intervals at the Festival Hall” enjoyed priority at the bar. A hidden gem that is still going strong. I’ve never seen any musicians in there, though I have seen plenty of commuters and professional drinkers.Horse and Groom, 118 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1. Opened in 1780s, rebuilt circa 1860s, major refurbishment 1984. “Busy, stylish place,” reports Walker, “reopened December 1984 after major internal surgery. Now has long zigzag bar on the left (must have cost a fortune), ambitious food counter at back, seating and tables on right.” Now renamed the Horse and with a Thai kitchen supplying food, it’s a bit of a barn of a place that seems to attract tourists rather than regulars.Jubilee Tavern, 81 York Road, London SE1. Opened pre-1775 as Ordnance Arms, rebuilt 1960 and renamed 1977. It was, writes Walker, “London Hosts place, big U-shaped hall in an office block with drink on left and midday food on right.” As for customers: “Used to be populated by thin and thoughtful GLC officials midday, badge-wearing hirsute party workers at night, now in want of trade.” Now demolished and replaced by an office block to rent. Few appear to have mourned its demise.Kings Arms, 25 Roupell Street, London SE1. Built 1838 (listed building Grade II). “Compact well-run two-bar pub with award-winning cellar, regular mention in the Good Beer Guides and rock-bottom prices,” wrote Walker. “Nice modest, unspoiled building amid gentrified artisans’ cottages, the toffs’ Coronation Street.” One commentator on a pub review website described this as “a Tardis of drinking pleasure” and I certainly used to enjoy a pint in this small, traditional pub when I worked in the area.Mitre, 51 Hatfields, London SE1. Pre-1793, rebuilt circa 1880. “Until a change of tenant in 1986 the most basic and perhaps quietest pub in Waterloo,” reported Walker. Completely refurbished, it became “a lively house, well-run, well-filled and with real draught beer. Darts are still important.” Walker pulled a flanker on me with this one by listing the address as 31 Hatfields, while other sources have it as Number 51. This is academic, however, as the pub has been demolished. What’s shown in the picture, then, is another former pub, possibly the Duke of Wurtemberg, that had shut before Walker published his book.New Crown and Cushion, 133 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1. Pre-1793, rebuilt 1893 and again circa 1945. Walker described it as a “business-like house, internally regutted into a large one-bar place.” Now an Irish pub with friendly staff, Thai food, a dark interior full of nick-nacks and ephemera and regulars who closely follow the horse racing on the telly.Pineapple, 53 Hercules Road, London SE1. Pre-1826, rebuilt 1869. “One of the handsomest pub exteriors in Waterloo,” wrote Walker, “perhaps the only one in Lambeth with a foundation stone.” It was, he noted “reopened in 1984 after purchase from Ind Coope, changed hands again in 1985 and now very much an Irish house. Still cheap and cheerful.” I haven’t been in but it appears to be in better shape than many back-street boozers thanks to an appreciative local clientele.Red Lion, 172 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1. Originally New Dover Castle, reopened 1844, renamed and rebuilt (?) 1885, rebuilt again circa 1930. Walker was a bit dismissive of this pub: “Busy compact one-bar pub recently taken over by young antipodeans and extensively altered inside.” These days it is the Walrus and is more of a bar than a pub, with a younger clientele and DJ nights. Friendly staff, stripped back interior, no ales.Rose and Crown, 47 Colombo Street, London SE1.Pre-1840 (?), rebuilt 18886-87. Another pub that Walker is a touch sniffy about, describing it as “highly spoken of, especially by young aspiring professionals” though he praised its “hard-working, enterprising staff.” I’ve always enjoyed a pint here and rate it as a hidden gem within easy reach of the Thames, well-run, good beer and plenty of room in the garden to lounge about in summer.Royal George, 27 Carlisle Lane, London SE1. Pre-1833, enlarged 1883. “Excellent small two-bar house next to railway viaduct, now blighted by a railway widening scheme for the Channel Tunnel,” wrote Walker. “Pity, because this is a really nice pub.” Demolished to make way for the Eurostar line into Waterloo.Spanish Patriot, 34 Lower March, London SE1. Pre-1826, rebuilt circa 1890. Walker described it as “very much a regulars’ local” that was “impressive externally, and much better internally for the major refurbishment carried out in 1985, with a glistening brass-topped bar.” Reinvented as Lounge 34, a cocktail bar that gets busy on occasion. Interior strives to be a minimalist chill-out zone, though the orange elements in the décor suggest Austin Powers might feel at home. Stage Door, 30 Webber Street, London SE1. Pre-1801, rebuilt circa 1890. Not one of Walker’s favourites. Noting that it had been revamped in 1982, he pronounced that the “poncey décor with unserviceable furniture and unhygienic tiles on counter top all looked a bit tired after a few years.” Still going as a relaxed, friendly local, it looked to be building a bit of a reputation as a live music venue, though I’ve not seen details of anyone playing there in the past six months.Stamford Arms, 62 Stamford Street, London SE1. Pre-1854. “A busy bar,” noted Walker. “One could grow fond of it.” Although its trade must have been hit by the opening of a Slug and Lettuce in a former bank premises in the same block, the Stamford has survived and remains a friendly enough boozer.Steam Engine, 41 Cosser Street, London SE1. Opened pre-1848 as a beerhouse, rebuilt circa 1930, fully licensed circa 1946. “An estate pub for the Briant Estate behind it, but it still draws a regular clientele from further afield,” wrote Walker. Acquired a new landlord at the start of 2010, who looks to be keen to attract business. Upstairs, oddly, is now a backpackers’ hostel, so the bar staff double as hostel receptionists.Three Stags, 69 Kennington Road, London SE1. Pre-1789, rebuilt 1891. The gales of October1987 sent the chimney stack toppling through the roof and into the cellar, according to Walker. He wrote that it had friendly, Irish management and catered mostly for “Kennington constabulary by day and coach parties by night.” Still attracts tourists, though probably not by coach, the Three Stags has turned into a gastropub with, intriguingly, an art gallery upstairs.Wellington, 81 Waterloo Road, London SE1. May be successor to the Duke of Wellington in Vine Street, 1826; rebuilt in various stages and enlarged 1918 to incorporate the Lord Hill (which was rebuilt 1891). Walker found two very different establishments operating under one roof here. “Quite smart bar on the right next to Sandell Street, with good food at most times,” he wrote. “Plenty of character in the left-hand bar which is a noisier den for anonymous drinkers and drunks whose conversation is sometimes brilliant, sometimes incomprehensible.” It looks like the left-hand bar is now closed. Pub still attracts a transient clientele which gives it an anonymous atmosphere.White Hart, 29 Cornwall Road, London SE1. Pre-1848 as a beerhouse, rebuilt and fully licensed circa 1930. Walker was fairly dismissive of this pub on the grounds that it was “modern” and “basic”. Now, it seems to thrive on a mixture of regulars and the post-work crowd. Some website pub reviewers and commentators, however, have been decidedly unimpressed by the service.Windmill, 86 The Cut, London SE1. Pre-1826, rebuilt circa 1935. “Rather plain building with even plainer public bar,” wrote Walker. “By contrast the saloon has been made startlingly cosy with good furnishing and décor.” Now the interior is mostly grey and smilar to its sister pub, The Ring, down the road. The Thai food is a bit of a draw here and the place can get busy at times.

~ by holdinganapple on April 24, 2010.