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There’s a pub on every corner in London – or at least the old saying goes. It’s maybe not quite as true anymore, but we still have an abundance of top-quality boozers here, from carpeted Samuel Smith’s joints to trendy east London gastropubs and everything in between.
All that said, we have had our fair share of fallen soldiers in recent times. A new book by Sam Cullen celebrates more than 200 of the most memorable pubs closed across Greater London over the last 25 years, covering all 32 boroughs and the City. ‘In pulling together my new book, London’s Lost Pubs, I consulted a wide array of historic pub guides to the capital’s boozers – it should come as no surprise that the Time Out guides published in the nineties onwards were a rich source of information, full of witty and colourful reviews,’ Cullen says.
Below, Cullen picks out some of his favourite comments from the Time Out archives and spotlights 12 great closed pubs to remember.
RECOMMENDED: The 50 best pubs in London, according to Time Out
1. The Beehive
Marylebone
‘This bijou Marylebone boozer had a particularly colourful Time Out review in 2004, being described as ‘‘a one room drinking experience that puts you in mind of a house party arranged by a mad aunt who has inexplicably gained access to several barrels of lager and bitter’’. The entry went on to say it was ‘‘cheap and distinctly cheerful’’. It closed in 2014 and has remained derelict ever since.’
2. Cartoonist
Holborn
‘Based at the foot of a ’70s office block off Fleet Street, this was the regular meeting point of the Cartoon Club of Great Britain. On Time Out’s visit in 2000, they were most excited by the presence of a bar billiards table, to which they felt the pub deserved ‘‘a hearty slap on the back.’’ These words would be even truer now, given how rare a site these tables now are. The pub shut in 2013 when the office block was torn down.’
3. The Castle
Battersea
‘This was a sixties pub built on the site of a 17th century pub of the same name. In 2002, the Time Out guide suggested we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover because while the pub was ‘‘uninspiring outside, inside it is as warm and welcoming as a St Bernard in the snow’’. It closed in the early 2010s and was demolished for a new block of flats.’
4. Hope and Anchor
Hammersmith
‘This Grade II listed building featured in the 2006 Time Out pub guide, being listed as ‘‘old fashioned boozer’’ with darts, pool and ‘a good crew of venerable regulars’ at this Hammersmith pub. While it closed down in 2012 that’s not the last many of us have seen of the Hope as it is now used as a film set and its most high profile appearance being in The Crown.’
5. House They Left Behind
Limehouse
‘So called because it was the last building left standing on this Limehouse street in the ’60s, Time Out visited in 1998 and found a pub which they called Tony the landlord’s ‘‘personal funhouse’’, with a décor they described as ‘‘East End dabbles with ancient Greece’’ . He even had his wedding jacket framed on the wall. It turned into a restaurant in the noughties before being converted into flats.’
6. Jack Straws Castle
Arguably the most famous ‘lost’ London pub, when Time Out visited back in 2000, they remarked that ‘it had the dubious honour of being Britain’s youngest listed building’, as it had been rebuilt in 1964. Architecture from the sixties clearly hadn’t developed its niche following yet. They also remarked the ‘place smells like a deep fat fryer’, so clearly not feeling the allure that once made Dickens and Bram Stoker fans.
7. The Beehive
Southwark
‘Southwark pub, narrowly survived being destroyed during the blitz by V1 rocket. On Time Out’s visit in the early noughties they referenced the old newspaper front pages displayed on the walls, including the ‘‘Daily Mail front page telling of Thatcher’s downfall’’, something they thought was kept up to inspire staffers from the Labour Party’s HQ, which used to be based nearby on the Walworth Road. It’s been closed since covid with the community battling to save it from conversion to flats.’
8. Mawson Arms/Fox and Hounds
Chiswick
‘A familiar sight to many heading out of London on the A4, this pub with two names was next door to the Fullers brewery. When Time Out visited in 2004, they revealed the landlord himself admitted ‘‘he had the easiest job in the capital’’, given the relatively limited opening hours of the pub, which shut by 8pm every evening. They went on to say the London Pride was excellent here, which you’d expect given the location. The pub closed in 2020 after Asahi acquired the brewery.’
9. Montague Arms
New Cross
‘This New Cross institution was described as an ‘‘idiosyncratic gem’’ by Time Out in 2006. Reflecting on its location on the main coach route out of London towards Dover, the reviewer wondered how many visitors from Holland would have taken photos of the décor of ‘‘zebra heads and maritime knick-knacks.’’ It also played host to an NME interview in 1989 between Nick Cave, Mark E Smith and Shane McGowan, further cementing its cult status. It closed in 2019 and presently lays derelict.’
10. Tea Clipper
Knightsbridge
‘It’s not often you hear somewhere in Knightsbridge described as ‘‘an unpretentious place for a pie and a pint’’ but that’s exactly how Time Out summed up this pub back in 2000. They went on to add that it was ‘‘a million miles away from the chi-chi little patisseries that line the Brompton Road.’’ It closed down in 2014 and the Grade II listed building was converted into housing.’
11. Water Poet
Spitalfields
‘Opened in the 1990s on the site of a former pub, it was a firm favourite in Time Out guides, the 1999 review calling it ‘‘open, airy and minimalist’’, in keeping with the general positive vibes. Time Out covered its closure in 2019 too, looking back fondly at the varied events at the pub from Pancake Day races to Eurovision parties. It was swallowed up as part of wider development of the Norton Folgate area.’
12. The Black Cap
Camden
‘[An] incredibly famous gay pub and cabaret venue, in 1999 Time Out were dazzled by an interior that they likened to a ‘‘brilliantly coloured hotel lounge’’, albeit one with a carpet which ‘‘may require some to wear sunglasses.’’ A battle for the pub’s future raged in the 2010s and the venue closed in 2015. However the curtain will be rising again here soon, with plans to reopen in the near future.’
Read more: An oral history of Camden’s legendary gay pub, the Black Cap
‘Lost London Pubs’ is published by Pen and Sword books. Buy it here.
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