One Sunday morning this week (15/6/25), I got up, switched on the TV and clicked on my YouTube subscription channels, and one video in particular caught my eye.  This video was called The Suffering Pub Scene in Woolwich – South East #London. ( https://youtu.be/noRAD9qzWhg?feature=shared&utm_source=MTQxZ )

The narrator,  Vinnie Sullivan, went on to lament the loss of the many Woolwich pubs lost over the years,  such as the Gun Pit, The Bull, The Mitre, and The Albion

And I have to agree with most of what he said until he started praising the Elephant and Castle, which I reviewed with a friend on 12 October 2024. (See https://greenwichreview.com/pub-reviews/ )

I’m afraid I couldn’t agree with his evaluation of the Elephant and Castle.  I’m not dissing the Elephant and Castle in any way, but when I reviewed it I came to a different conclusion.

If only he had walked through the arch that he looked at when staring through the window of the Elephant,  he would have seen the way Woolwich has progressed, pub-wise.

He didn’t even mention the fantastic Dial Arch, which I would say is the new standard of pub by which others in the area should be measured. The Guard House, The  Great Harry, SALT Woolwich  Tap room,  or the demise of great pubs like The Anglesea Arms, The Equitable or the Albion and the Queens Arms.

He even filmed right by the site of what was planned to be a new pub, The Volunteer in Powis Street, to be opened in 2024, but due to financial problems with the pub owners, it never materialised.

Woolwich has lost a lot of pubs over the recent few years, and that is an absolute tragedy.

As the demographics of the area have changed, namely a heavy established Nigerian and Somalian community it is shown in the establishments in the area,  hence the Castle pub which was a pub that sold African food is now totally an African restaurant,  and the Albion that become the Le Wouri African restaurant that subsequently also folded.  The Victoria was also shown in its decrepit state, which is now a Domino Pizza delivery point.

When I was growing up in Rotherhithe and  Bermondsey, my go-to pubs were in the Old Kent Road, which at its peak in the 1980s had about 20 pubs and is now reduced to just 2 and one of those is struggling. Vinnie also highlighted the sad demise of the Old Kent Road.  Which is one loss I still to this day cannot understand or comprehend how it happened to such an extent.

Woolwich is struggling, it may not be as bad as the Old Kent Road, but a few large breweries and pub chains, such as Wetherspoons and Youngs and a few independent pub chains have invested in Woolwich and their dividends are paying up good.  The people of Woolwich are looking for good pubs to keep, and that includes The Elephant and Castle.