The missing Irish element

The missing Irish element

by | Mar 14, 2025 | Business, Community, Pub, Uncategorized

 

The missing Irish element

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Well, here we are,  it’s almost St Patrick’s day. Unfortunately, Greenwich is missing two vital establishments essential in celebrating St Paddy’s day: a good, genuine Irish pub.

Greenwich, up until last year, had just two Irish pubs. It now has none.

I’m not suggesting for one minute that St. Paddy’s Day can not be celebrated in anything but an Irish pub, but the atmosphere would just not be the same.

Sticking on a green foam hat and strongly pushing Guinness as the only thing that should be drunk that night doesn’t cut it.

In June last year, the bailiffs took repossession of the Old Gun Pit in  Woolwich, which was touted as Southeast London’s oldest Irish pub and is currently being refurbished and awaiting reopening.

Last month, reconstruction also started on Hardy’s Free House in Trafalgar Road to upgrade the bar to a restaurant and increase the capacity of its hotel section by building upwards.

Both these establishments are the only Irish pubs in the Borough of Greenwich, and both are, at the moment, undergoing major building works.

When they reopen, there is no guarantee that they will still be Irish pubs.

The make-up of any pub is directed in part by its clientele. If the old regular Irish clientele returns, then the pub will be re-established as an Irish pub. If the pubs are trying to push for a rather upmarket clientele, then the old regulars will not return, and they will end up like other touristy places throughout the borough, charging overpriced drinks to people who have more money than sense.

To be fair, neither of these pubs is within a catchment area for tourists, so I’m fairly confident that the Irish influence will still prevail at both pubs but in nicer surroundings, and I hope this time next year they will both be celebrating St Paddy’s Day.

I never got the chance to do a pub review on the Old Gun Pit, but I have done a review on the Hardy, so after they reopen and clientele adjustment has settled, I will do an update review on this pub and review on the Old Gun Pit.

I am assuming that it will still be called the Old Gun Pit. Upon reopening, it may be called something completely different.

 

 

 

Gypsy Moth Refurb

by | Jan 27, 2025 | Business, Community, Pub

Gypsy Moth Refurbishment

Some of you may have noticed that the Gypsy Moth pub next to the Cutty Sark is closed and has been since the 6th January 2025.

The pub is undergoing a refurbishment and should be reopening on Thursday the 6th February 2025.

I remeber the last time this pub went through with a refurbishment and suddenly when it reopened the prices had increased substantially. Let’s hope this does not happen this time. It’s a tourist pub already with extotionate beer prices. 

 

Plum Tree Beer Shop update

by | Jan 22, 2025 | Business, Community, Pub

Plum Tree Beer Shop update (22 Jan 2025).

I should have updated this earlier but I’ve been a bit busy lately.

The Plum Tree Beer Shop has closed for good, unfortunately, and the owners are moving to Dorset. It would appear that the whole situation got out of hand when they tried to expand the business by installing a deli in the shop,  but the deli failed as a business and started draining their finances. Their landlords reluctantly were forced to go through with repossession by their banks, who wanted their mortgage repayments. There may be a bit of good news though. They are looking for a buyer for the beer shop, so maybe,  just maybe, the place may be saved at the last minute if someone is interested in purchasing the business.

I never got to review this place. I hope it is saved so I can review it with the new management. From what I’ve read it had quite a loyal customer base.

Another bit of bad pub news is that the Anglesea Arms in nearby Woolwich has also closed its doors for the last time.

 

 

 

Good Choice

by | Jan 10, 2025 | Pub, Uncategorized

The one that slipped through the net.

 Whilst sitting in the River Ale House on Woolwich Road,  I was flicking through the London Drinker magazine which is published bimonthly by the Campaign for real ale (CAMRA), when I noticed that the opening of a new micropub in the borough in late 2024, had occurred and I knew nothing about it.

It’s  called the Good Choice and is located just within the borough boundary at Avery Hill.

With a draughts drinks selection of Stella, Guinness,  Moretti (fake Italian beer), Cruzcampo (fake Spanish beer) and Inch’s cider or Neck Oil IPA. It’s fair to say that unlike many other Micropubs they have not embraced the wonders of real ales. Gathering from photos on their Instagram photos they do fancy cocktails also.

As I said this place slipped my radar since it opened  on 27th September 2024, in what used to be a carpet shop, so I hope to do a review of the place sometime  soon.

Whether they do real ale or not, the opening of a new pub in the borough is always good news, especially  after losing so many pubs lately. 

 

 

 

More Pub Closures

by | Jan 7, 2025 | Business, Community, Pub

More Greenwich Pub Closures.

Well, here we go again, as soon as you think there is going to be a revival or restoration of pubs in the London borough of Greenwich, expectations come crumbling down, recently we have lost the 300 Bar in Creek Road, and the Star of Greenwich in  Greenwich Park Street.

The Star of Greenwich was one pub that I wanted to succeed in as it was a Community pub run by the community for the community but it was unable to get a deal for £50K in rent arrears by their landlords, Greenwich Hospital,  which operates independently but is overseen by the Ministry of Defence. I hope this pub can come back in some form that is similar to the Star of Greenwich community mindset.

We also have two pubs planned to open this year but after Antic Pubs again got into financial difficulties, they will not see the light of day. They were the planned Volunteer in Powis Street and the Plumble on Plumstead High Street. Unfortunately, after Antic was saved from administration they had to sell off 10 pubs to the ‘Urban Pubs and Bars group’ the two long-awaited new pubs were quietly side-lined and forgotten about. I don’t know if Antic or Urban Pubs and Bars own the lease to these two properties now.

The good news is that according to the Murky Depths website, there are signs that the Gun Pit in Woolwich may have been resurrected and may in future be opening again, as a hotel rather than another hostel.

Another bit of bad news is the forced closure of the Plum Tree Beer Shop on Plumstead Common Road, which although they class themselves as a beer shop is a micropub by any other definition. Unfortunately, they have had to close due to outstanding issues with their landlord. They say they will give everyone an update next week. Let’s hope this is just a temporary closure and they will be back in business soon.

 

 

 

The Old Gun Pit closure.

The Old Gun Pit closure.

by | Jun 23, 2024 | Community, Pub, Uncategorized

 

 

The Bull Tavern closed to a large new housing development coming soon.

The Old Gun Pit closed by enforcement officers or bailiffs on 20th June 2024.

The Old Gun Pit closure.

Earlier this year they closed the Equitable pub in General Gordon Place, Woolwich due to financial difficulties caused by the Covid pandemic, then we lost the Bull Tavern in Vincent Road, Woolwich and not to  mention the Queens arms in Burrage Road, and now we have lost the Old Gun Pit.

The Bull Tavern I believe was closed due to a planned new housing development next to the new Woolwich leisure centre that is being built at the moment.

The closure of the Old Gun Pit was a bit of a surprise not only to its customers and patrons, but it would seem also to some of its staff.

When checking on its Facebook page just four days ago it was advertising for customers to come and watch all the Euro matches at the pub, and the very next day it is announcing its closure.

There is a notice of repossession from an enforcement company acting on behalf of the landlords stuck to the pub door. So, it looks like they were not paying the rent to the landlords, so the bailiffs have come a knocking. If they were fighting a repossession for some other reason, then the management must have realised this would have happened at some time, so it couldn’t have been such a surprise after all.

They advertised themselves as the oldest Irish pub in South East London.

I never got around to reviewing this  place and now I never will.  To be honest it was not one of these places that I would have frequented myself, its clientele always looked a bit rough and ready, and the pub looked like the type of place a fight could break out at any moment, but looking at the reviews I could have been wrong about the place.  The locals seem to love it and at the end of the day it was the type of pub that relied on its locals rather than footfall or tourist clientele. It is Woolwich after all not touristy Greenwich.

Woolwich is losing too many pubs lately. I hope the landlords will lease the Old Gun Pit site out as a pub again soon to new management or a brewery chain.

We are still waiting for an update about the Volunteer pub in Powis Street that is supposed to open some time in 2024, but the managers or owners have still not given an opening date.