Stonch lives in London, where he runs a pub.The pubs of Clerkenwell in 1881
According to census records, in 1881 there were over 160 public houses in the Central London parish of Clerkenwell. For an area that covers considerably less than a square mile, that's a lot of boozers. There are still dozens today, but most have fallen by the wayside over the intervening 127 years.
Some of the survivors retain their names and much of the Victorian character they were born with. Look no further than the The Crown on Clerkenwell Green, The Betsey Trotwood (formerly The Butchers Arms) on Farringdon Road or The Old Red Lion on St John Street.
Others would still be recognisable to our forebears, but have been put to very different uses. The London Spa Tavern on Exmouth Market is now Cottons, a Jamaican restaurant and club. The Empress of Russia on St John Street is an upmarket seafood place, while its near neighbour The Crown and Woolpack is currently a health and beauty salon.
My local The Jerusalem Tavern is on the ground floor of a Georgian house which was only converted to its present use in the 1990s. Previously it was a workshop, and before that a coffee house. I've recently learned that there used to be a pub of the same name just a few feet away. Remarkably, until 1874 it traded within St John's Gate itself (pictured), undoubtedly the most potent symbol of an area rich in history.
Information:
- Details were sourced from the historical directory of London pubs hosted on this site. Many thanks to the webmaster Kevan for maintaining this excellent resource. I'll be using it to explore the history of this area's pubs in future articles.
- If you enjoyed this article, check out this from April: What's in a name?
6 comments:
When I worked on Bowling Green lane I recall reading that part of Clerkenwell road used to be known as Liquorpond street, due to a couple of breweries that used to be there (Reids and Meux?) and the Cannon (Cannonball?) brewery on St John Street. Of course, Clerkenwell was the first home of Gordon's Gin, which moved out only relatively recently.
Interesting stuff. Does more for me than Gemma Atkinson...
I think it's odd that new pubs have been opening in the last decade in banks etc when there are exisiting, presumably functional, pub buildings around. Perhaps they're not big enough.
The brewery on Liquorpond Street was the Griffin Brewery (at one time Meux reid, in it's final incarnation just Reid & Co.)
I have a Watney's brewery history with a photo of the original Jerusalem Tavern. It was a Reid's tied house.
The Griffin is now a strippers pub, of course.
I spotted a relatively modern pub (late 50s or 60s I think) between Upper St and Caledonian Rd with Meux windows the other day.
Your post has been featured on Londonist as part of this month's London Food Blog Round-Up:
http://londonist.com/2008/02/london_food_blo.php
The Cannon brewery in St John Street was taken over by Taylor Walker of Limehouse and is the reason why, when Allied Breweries revived the name Taylor Walker for its London outlets in an attempt to NOT look corporate and massive, it used a "cannon" trademark for them - some of these "cannons" still survive on top of pub signs, a curious echo of a long-vanished brewery ...
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