A historic gay pub that operated when homosexuality was illegal may reopen

Sometimes it feels like we lose a beloved pub in London each week. Sadly, it’s often the independent and queer spaces that are hit first. For change, though, The Black Cap, a legendary gay pub in Camden might be reopening after shutting down seven years ago.

Though the pub has licensing recordings dating back to as early as 1751, by 1965 the pub had become known for its LGBTQ+ clientele and famous drag performances, promoting itself as the ‘Palladium of Drag’. The pub became a cornerstone of London's gay nightlife scene while it was still illegal to be gay (the Sexual Offences act finally decriminalised private homosexual acts between men aged over 21 in 1967).

The pub shut in April 2015, just days after it was declared an Asset of Community Value by Camden Council. Its owners had made repeated unsuccessful attempts to develop the building into luxury flats. On the day of the pub’s closure, its devastated community of loyal punters and performers banded together and protested the loss of the queer hub and paraded through the streets of Camden Town. 

Alex Green was a loyal punter at The Black Cap from the 1980s for around 30 years. ‘The Black Cap was never pretentious,’ Alex told MyLondon. ‘It was just this wonderful mix of people of colour, loads of lesbians and trans people.’

‘In the ’90s when every gay club became young white guys with their tops off taking ecstasy, The Cap never became that. It was always this really interesting place full of different characters and different LGBT people that you wouldn’t find mixing anywhere else, and that’s what I really loved about it.’

Now the Black Cap Community Benefits Society, formed of ex-customers and performers, is on a mission to acquire and reopen The Black Cap. The group has won protection for the pub, and it wants to continue its legacy as a vital London LGBTQ+ performance venue. 

While all sounds like good news for The Cap, though there are numerous legal hoops to jump through before the group can reopen the pub and reclaim its legacy. But what we can be sure of, though, is that The Black Cap’s loyal community will continue to put up a fight to bring back this iconic pub. 

Check out the campaign to bring back the iconic pub and how to get involved here.

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