A listing of historical public houses, Taverns, Inns, Beer Houses and Hotels in London.
I am using the site listings in the first instance, all supplied by Keith Emmerson - East London & City CAMRA.
introduction
This is the third edition of the East London & City Beer Guide. The area covered is huge, from Fleet Street eastwards to the boarders of Essex, and from the Thames northwards to Chingford: over 1000 pubs in all.
PUBLISHED BY
The East London & City Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale Ltd; ISBN No.1 85249 055 1; COPYRIGHT: The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. 1991.
SCOPE OF THIS GUIDE
This East London & City Beer Guide includes all public house but only those with real ale get a full description. Establishments that demand an entrance or membership fee have been omitted, as have those calling themselves brassieres/restaurants/bars that sell no real ale.
The area covered is from the City postal districts EC1 to EC4 and from E1 in the west to E18 in the east. Though three pubs in E4 are uniquely also in Essex, pubs in Essex are covered by the Essex Beer Guide, a new edition for 1991 is available from the address below.
Since the publication of our last guide in 1986 there have been major changes in the number of pubs breweries are allowed to own. As a consequence Grand Met (Watney/Truman) have stopped brewing (there are some that maintain they never started!). Trumans closed their Brick Lane brewery in 1989 and the history of major brewing in the East End came to a close. See article elsewhere on Brewery History. As a result the variety of real ale has diminished. Five years back a visit to a Watney and Truman pub have resulted in the sampling of seven real ales: Combes, Stag, Trumans Best, Bitter and Sampson. Today the same visit would net but three.
Grand Met are not alone for the reducing the number of their real ales. , Friary Meux and Benskins are increasingly rare in the East End and in the main have been replaced by the bland Tetley that like Websters, is shipped down from Yorkshire.
As we went to press Charrington announced the closure of their Springfield Brewery. is brewed there and already is concern that the beer will be phased out. It must change in flavour if it is to be brewed elsewhere and again other beers are being shipped in from elsewhere. and Stones have already appeared in some Bass pubs.
Belhaven, (from Scotland) bought a number of pubs throughout England from Grand Met and Brent Walker but none of their real ale is supplied to them. The pubs that were real with Watney have gone keg since and any real ale sold in them is that of Courage, with who they have a trading agreement. Belhavens motives remain a mystery within CAMRA.
The pubs.
Outside the City area many pubs have closed and there are five in the E14 area (Poplar / Dockands), waiting to be demolished as part of new roads/road widening schemes. In the E1 Stepney, and Aldgate area instead of waiting for the demolishers balls, public houses have changed use. Two have become restaurants, one a cash and carry, another a joinery workshop and a fourth an off licence.
London pub history directory.