Pubs by Area: SE21

London has a lot of postal districts. Just taking the London-specific ones (W, NW, N, E, SE, SW, EC and WC), there are 119. And most of these have a good range of pubs, too, though most obviously cluster in the centre of town. Not SE21, though: this postal district we can cover quickly. I now have photos of all three (that’s 3) of its pubs.

The vast majority of SE21 (1,500 acres of it, to be precise) comes under the management of The Dulwich Estate, an organisation which is separate from Dulwich College (which itself owns vast tracts of pristine playing fields and attractive college buildings), but which funnels money into the College and other schools as a charitable venture.

Clearly, public houses are not a priority of the Dulwich Estate. In fact, there is only one hostelry in the centre of Dulwich Village, which is The Crown and Greyhound (Dulwich Village SE21, fig. 41). It retains in its name some sense of the history behind it, as there were originally two separate pubs, one on either side of the road, at this location. However, at the turn of the 20th century, these merged into the one larger pub, leaving more spaces for the organic delicatessens and baby clothing boutiques, such as befit the area.

Figure 41. The Crown and Greyhound (Dulwich Village SE21).

The remaining two pubs lie to the West of the Village. One is what is commonly referred to as a ‘gastropub’, The Rosendale (West Dulwich SE21, fig. 42). This appellation may be more warranted than in many cases, given that fine dining isn’t otherwise particularly plentiful in this area (surprisingly), so hungry locals must congregate with those merely slaking their thirst.

Figure 42. The Rosendale (West Dulwich SE21).

Of course, Mitchells & Butlers’ suburban brand Ember Inns provides a third option for the residents of SE21, which is The Alleyn’s Head (West Dulwich SE21, fig. 43), not perhaps as rarefied as the other two, and occupying a large site off Park Hall Road, with prominent car parking out front, looking for all the world like a Wetherspoon’s manqué.

Figure 43. The Alleyn’s Head (West Dulwich SE21).

If there’s a lesson to be drawn from all this, it’s that you’d be better off living elsewhere if it’s a quick pint down the local that you count on in the evening. Then again, you’re unlikely to be able to afford to live here, anyway.

Pubs of E5

Another of our postcode round-ups: E5 is in Hackney, specifically Clapton, both Lower and Upper. Pubology has no interest in dwelling on the media fascination of the early part of this century that saw Lower Clapton Road dubbed “Murder Mile” and refuses to perpetuate this journalistic nonsense (strong words, there): it has scant relevance to the E5 of today.

As with many areas on the outskirts of central London, Hackney grew up as a country retreat for the harried professional classes. Clapton and Homerton were dominated by large homes and a handful of estates, most of which have long since disappeared and replaced by the more modern form of estate.

From what remains of what was once many more establishments in E5, there are still a good variety, both local pubs as you’d expect, but also rather more genteel establishments catering to a growing influx of middle-class residents, pushed further east by the rapid gentrification of Islington in the late-20th century.

Lower Clapton (Lower Clapton Road and eastwards)

As Lower Clapton moves away from the top of Mare Street and curves around past the lovely Round Chapel, we move swiftly from more basic premises (such as Fitzgerald’s) to some rather more characterful settings. Moving east from the Round Chapel, we find Chatsworth Road, a lively shopping street within sight of the Canary Wharf tower, and near there Lower Clapton’s friendliest pub, The Elderfield (Lower Clapton E5, fig. 27), with its Art Deco-inspired panelling and unfussy service. Biddle Bros. Builders Ltd serves a similar demographic, in a more modern bar style, the wonky tables and artsy decor reminiscent of the Shoreditch establishments to the south-east of the Borough.

Figure 27. The Elderfield (Lower Clapton E5).

Of course, we can still find pubs for the estate-bound community, such as The Glyn Arms east of Chatsworth Road towards Hackney Marshes — where Landmark Point dominates the landscape — or The Windsor Castle on Lower Clapton Road itself. However, a lot of these are currently unused, whether boarded or squatted, or just turned to residential use (see thumbnails).

Upper Clapton

There’s not much in the way of drinking for the residents of Upper Clapton. To a certain extent, as the area shades over to the ultra-orthodox denizens of Stamford Hill, this is a matter of religious change in the area. What establishments remain in this area, such as The Swan (Stamford Hill E5) are under threat, leaving the most prominent establishments being those down by the River Lea (or Lee).

Outstanding even amongst such a small sub-group is The Anchor and Hope (fig. 28), a tiny Fuller’s pub overlooking this underrated stretch of water. Young’s has its own outpost nearby, The Princess of Wales, while standing alongside it, catering more to the black community, is The Ship Aground.

Figure 28. The Anchor and Hope (Upper Clapton E5).

Shacklewell and Hackney Downs (west of Upper/Lower Clapton Road)

Moving west from the strong boundary formed by Lower and Upper Clapton Roads is the area of Clapton north of Hackney Downs, buffering Stoke Newington and Dalston, the former a traditional stronghold of gentrification in the Borough and the latter moving in that direction as well. Historically, the area is known as Shacklewell, though nowadays it’s more likely to just be called Stoke Newington or Clapton.

Nevertheless, the pubs which exist here retain a rough feel. Probably most highly considered of the bunch is The Royal Sovereign, though here as in all cases pictured below, the paintwork could use some retouching.

See also:

My Flickr photos of active pubs in E5, and Flickr photos of former ones.

Pubs of SE15

I’ve been making only slow progress on this journal, but have nonetheless decided to introduce a new feature: a survey of the pubs within a postal district. The boundaries of London’s locales are notoriously difficult to pinpoint in all but a few neatly-defined areas (Mayfair, for example), therefore I’m going with the postcode instead. It will be a while before I bite off something huge like W1, but let’s start with somewhere close to home.

SE15 mainly covers Peckham, as well as Nunhead to its south. Peckham is neatly divided by Peckham High Street/Queens Road into a northern and southern area. Rye Lane, the main shopping thoroughfare running south from Peckham High Street, also serves to keep the two distinct southern areas apart, with the larger concentration of council estate housing on the eastern side, and a conservation area (the Holly Grove Conservation Area, sometimes referred to by estate agents using the name of its main street, Bellenden Road) to the west. Nunhead is to the south, on either side of the grand Victorian cemetery of that name.

Like many comparable conurbations in South-East London, Peckham and Nunhead were originally villages with only a small number of wealthy land-owners on large estates. Upon the coming of the railways in the 19th century, they started to grow as fully-fledged suburban areas, increasingly accommodating the urban poor leaving the centre of the city. As such, throughout the latter part of the 20th century, Peckham has been known for its high crime rate and poor provision of social housing, not helped by inadequate system-built post-war estates (particularly in North Peckham).

The dominant feature of the drinking landscape is the simple local pub, usually one or two rooms. Some of these are in Victorian buildings, betraying a grander past, while others make lesser claims for attention.

North Peckham and the Old Kent Road

A number of grand Victorian gin palaces still survive as rather more modest local boozers, shorn of the brash and colourful beer advertising that would once have adorned them. The Breffni Arms (North Peckham SE15, fig. 11) is one such, an imposing sight on the Old Kent Road near the railway tracks which is now a rather undistinguished pub with little to commend it by way of beer or hospitality.

The other locals between here and Queens Road range from bleak sports pubs (The Swan) to some rather more attractive prospects (The Olde Apple Tree with its plentiful hanging flower baskets, or The Asylum Tavern). A particularly nice example despite its mock-Tudor is the Glengall Tavern (North Peckham SE15, fig. 16), which merits a listing in CAMRA’s book of historic pub interiors.¹

Figure 16. Glengall Tavern (North Peckham SE15).

Peckham High Street, Queens Road and Rye Lane

Some of the more outwardly unappealing pubs in Peckham are actually to be found around the main shopping streets of Peckham, as are many of the closed pubs (see below). We’ve already come across one example (The Red Cow, fig. 2) in the entry devoted to estate pubs. The Bun House (Peckham SE15, fig. 17) is another typical example on Peckham High St, being a former Courage house,² but showing little sign of any cosmetic improvements in the last half century. The sign is forlorn and the windows are resolutely impenetrable. At many times, it’s difficult to tell whether it’s even still open.

Figure 17. The Bun House (Peckham SE15).

Nevertheless many of these establishments have a history stretching back to the Victorian era, to a time when the populace of Peckham was largely white and middle-class. The Kentish Drovers (Peckham SE15) is a typical example: it may have been a Wetherspoons only since 2000, but has a well over a century of history prior to this.

Peckham Rye Common and Holly Grove Conservation Area

Already several of the pubs in this area of south-west Peckham are showing signs of the increasingly gentrified nature of this area. The Montpelier on Choumert Rd is a more recent convert, joining The Gowlett (which sometimes prefers to geographically align itself with the aspirational denizens of East Dulwich) and The Rye (once the Rye Hotel, as the ornate ironwork makes clear, fig. 18). This “pub, dining room and garden” remains one of the earlier ventures in this style, leaning heavily on the stripped wooden floors, bare brickwork, over-fussy decoration, premium beers and enlarged conservatory areas typical of the gastropub.

Figure 18. The Rye (Peckham SE15).

Within such a context, then — which includes the cocktail and DJ bar Bar Story, the independent bookshop Review and the French brasserie Petitou — it’s always surprising to see unreformed boozers such as the Prince Albert (Peckham SE15) on Bellenden Rd continuing to cling on to their clientele.

Nunhead and East Peckham

Long a quiet residential area, the rather unprepossing local pubs have started to show some signs of going the same way as those to the east. I have already focused at length on The Old Nun’s Head (Nunhead SE15, fig. 12), but against this, pubs such as The Pyrotechnists Arms (Nunhead SE15, on the other side of Nunhead Green) continue to retain their customers. In fact, if anything, the lack of patronage which has presumably contributed to the multiple name changes at The Duke (Nunhead SE15, formerly known as The Village Inn and before that Page 2 Bar) means the gastropub growth is still only budding in Nunhead.

A more interesting drinking establishment is The Ivy House (Nunhead SE15, fig. 19, formerly known as the Stuart Arms), on the other side of Nunhead Cemetery from the pubs mentioned above. It is at once a local pub, with a large pool room and plenty of lagers on tap, but also maintains a striking stage area complete with proscenium arch and heavy curtains for live music and performances.

Figure 19. The Ivy House (Nunhead SE15).

Disused and Former Pubs

All over Peckham, and particularly in the north, are plentiful examples of boarded-up and now-closed pubs. Many of them, presumably due to the prohibitive cost of remodelling their exteriors, are now residential accommodation. We may take the Denman Arms (Peckham SE15, fig. 20) as being somewhat typical of these. On the outside is still clearly visible (if now faded), the name of the pub, with the hanging sign and logos of its former owner, the Bass Charrington brewery.

Figure 20. Denman Arms (Peckham SE15).

Other pubs have made a cleaner break with their past, and only partially betray their former use, whether just the solitary signs of the Railway Tavern (Nunhead SE15)³ and The Lord Lyndhurst (Peckham SE15), or the discreet name engraved into the top of The Beehive (North Peckham SE15).

Meanwhile, somewhat typical of the changing times and population demographic noted above, The Frog (Peckham SE15, fig. 21) is now a delicatessen, with fresh-baked bread, fruit and vegetables and an extensive range of St Peter’s bottled ales. It is unlikely to have had quite as good a range of drink available when it was a pub.

Figure 21. The Frog (Peckham SE15), now known as Frog on the Green.

See also:
My Flickr photos of active pubs in SE15, and Flickr photos of closed ones.

Footnotes:
[1] Geoff Brandwood and Jane Jephcote, London Heritage Pubs: An Inside Story (Historic Pub Interiors in the Capital) (St Albans: Campaign for Real Ale, 2008). See Bibliography for more information.
[2] A pub once tied to the Courage brewery (see the entry on Public vs Free Houses for some explanation of the brewery tie). These often tend to be downmarket pubs in what were once less affluent areas. The brewery itself was based by Tower Bridge until the 1970s.
[3] The rest of this pub has now been demolished and replaced by new-build flats.