Five... Historic East End Pubs
Pints with a side of centuries-old splendour
Hi and welcome to your weekend newsletter… 🍻
This week’s is a collection of some of my favourite historic East End pubs - not necessarily the oldest, but the ones where their history feels very close to the surface.
As a sidenote, if you’re interested in seeing some of the ones that didn’t survive the centuries, there’s a great Spitalfields Life article, The Alphabet of Lost Pubs, collecting historic photos of the pubs of the East End from the archives of Charrington Brewery, which began its life in Bethnal Green in the 18th century.
The Prospect of Whitby, Wapping
Home to one of my favourite riverside pub terraces in all of London, let alone the East End, The Prospect of Whitby’s perfect at high tide: terrace just big enough for two, spaciously, or four, cosily; sound of the waves from passing boats crashing against the bottom of the building, angled just right for sunset over the Thames…
Though it’s gone by a few names over the years - including The Pelican, and The Devil’s Tavern - it’s been serving beer since 1520, giving it a strong claim to being London’s oldest riverside pub. Some of the pub was rebuilt after a fire in the 1800s, but its history’s still all around you: the panelling’s 18th century, the facade’s from the 19th century. And that flagstone floor you’re treading across is the original from the 1500s; Charles Dickens, Samuel Pepys and J.M.W. Turner all trod those same stones, along with a lot of sailors and smugglers over the centuries.
The Prospect of Whitby, Wapping