O/T Do you like beer?

ketsbaia

If so, you too will doubtless be appalled by the news the Wenlock Arms in N1 is due to close.

I've drawn attention to it here.

Spread the word. We need pubs like this to survive.

Thanks.

lost_in_thought

ketsbaia wrote:

If so, you too will doubtless be appalled by the news the Wenlock Arms in N1 is due to close.

I've drawn attention to it here.

Spread the word. We need pubs like this to survive.

Thanks.

So... the owners are selling, therefore it's closing? Doesn't sound that salvageable to me, and indeed, doesn't sound like anyone's fault but the owners.

ketsbaia

Absolutely it's down to the owners.

But that's not really the point.

Monkeypump

Hmmm... very underwhelmed by this catastrophe.

Beer - good.

Pub nowhere near me closing - meh.

lost_in_thought

ketsbaia wrote:

Absolutely it's down to the owners.

But that's not really the point.

So the people's campaign is to a) get the current owners not to sell or b) to get someone else to buy the pub and keep it exactly the same? Or c) something else?

ketsbaia

They just want to save their local, really. I think the owners have definitely had enough and want to move on, which is entirely fair enough. The campaign is trying to source a buyer who'll keep it as is, I think. Probably fruitless, but stranger things have happened.

It does sell extremely good beer and I can totally see why they want to keep the place intact.

Harveytile

Hmmm... very underwhelmed by this catastrophe.

Beer - good.

Pub nowhere near me closing - meh.

+1. As long as the home brew collection stays well stocked, I'm a happy bunny. Currently around 100 pints 8)

Now if my brewing shed was to close...

spen666

@ Ketsbaia - why don't you buy it, or buy it with your friends if it is a good investment

Headhuunter

Well, I've emailed my support, I used to live near there, although I'm not sure if I ever visited that specific pub. London is losing a lot of lovely pubs to flat developments. Near me in SE London a massive number have closed, as I walk around my local streets I can see quite a few building which were clearly designed as pubs but are now flats. Same with shops. It takes the heart out of communities.

Ironically Brockley where I live is now on the up, the new ELL extension and the fact that it remains an affordable place to live in zone 2 has led to an influx of people who work in the City or Canary Wharf and one of the big moans they have about the area is that there are no pubs, restaurants or interesting little shops. That's because you're all living in them!

Headhuunter

spen666 wrote:

@ Ketsbaia - why don't you buy it, or buy it with your friends if it is a good investment

Problem is that use of land in cities like London should not be just down to "investment". It may be that the best return on money for the current owners would be to sell to a developer, they make a quick killing and leave the area, meanwhile a community space is lost forever. A while ago the owners of the fairly famous Rivoli Ballroom near me (recently used for Justin Collins TV series and often used in period dramas as well as hosting lots of popular local events) was almost sold for flats. The place has been there for decades, it's a glorious place with sprung maple dance floor and plush velvet seats with panelling and period lighting but the owners had had enough and were trying to make a killing on the way out of the area. Luckily locals campaigned for English Heritage to list it and it's now protected but for a while it was looking like getting demolished for another faceless block of flats. Things like pubs often move from being public places to private but they rarely, if ever, go back. Town planning should be a bit more than who can make a killing by building more flats...

ketsbaia

spen666 wrote:

@ Ketsbaia - why don't you buy it, or buy it with your friends if it is a good investment

Heh. Would if I could. And not for the investment either.

Headhuunter

ketsbaia wrote:

spen666 wrote:

@ Ketsbaia - why don't you buy it, or buy it with your friends if it is a good investment

Heh. Would if I could. And not for the investment either.

K - Did you know that "The Winchester" in Shaun of the Dead is round the corner from you in New Cross? It wasn't called The Winchester of course.... Anyway, now it's a block of flats along with almost all the other pubs in the Hatcham Conservation Area!

ketsbaia

Headhuunter wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

spen666 wrote:

@ Ketsbaia - why don't you buy it, or buy it with your friends if it is a good investment

Heh. Would if I could. And not for the investment either.

K - Did you know that "The Winchester" in Shaun of the Dead is round the corner from you in New Cross? It wasn't called The Winchester of course.... Anyway, now it's a block of flats along with almost all the other pubs in the Hatcham Conservation Area!

I know. I *ahem* live in it. :oops:

Headhuunter

ketsbaia wrote:

Headhuunter wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

spen666 wrote:

@ Ketsbaia - why don't you buy it, or buy it with your friends if it is a good investment

Heh. Would if I could. And not for the investment either.

K - Did you know that "The Winchester" in Shaun of the Dead is round the corner from you in New Cross? It wasn't called The Winchester of course.... Anyway, now it's a block of flats along with almost all the other pubs in the Hatcham Conservation Area!

I know. I *ahem* live in it. :oops:

You pub killer you! What's this thread then? An attempt at appeasement to the gods of beer?

Brelfan

ketsbaia wrote:

If so, you too will doubtless be appalled by the news the Wenlock Arms in N1 is due to close.

Don't despair. It could rise from the ashes like this:

http://www.capitalpubcompany.com/the-florence/

Very handy for Herne Hill velodrome.

ketsbaia

In fairness, the pub had originally been a really nice community boozer, then had been taken over by new management, turned into a Millwall fans pub and slowly run into the ground. The developers bought it as building only; it had ceased trading, I believe.

A lot of the locals speak to us about it, saying they were gutted when the previous management sold up and it became a lifeless hole.

Headhuunter

ketsbaia wrote:

In fairness, the pub had originally been a really nice community boozer, then had been taken over by new management, turned into a Millwall fans pub and slowly run into the ground. The developers bought it as building only; it had ceased trading, I believe.

A lot of the locals speak to us about it, saying they were gutted when the previous management sold up and it became a lifeless hole.

Yeah, to be honest it was already flats when moved into the area. Clearly the 2nd set of management's plan all along was to allow it to fall into disuse to be sold of at hefty profit to developers. You see that quite often, lack of investment, pubs become very run down and dirty, only a few hard core locals use it, pub company then claims it is loss making and not wanted by the community and BANG, it's in the hands of developers...

ketsbaia

Brelfan wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

If so, you too will doubtless be appalled by the news the Wenlock Arms in N1 is due to close.

Don't despair. It could rise from the ashes like this:

http://www.capitalpubcompany.com/the-florence/

Very handy for Herne Hill velodrome.

A bit stylised for my liking, but it does brew its own beer, which is perfectly palatable.

ketsbaia

Headhuunter wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

In fairness, the pub had originally been a really nice community boozer, then had been taken over by new management, turned into a Millwall fans pub and slowly run into the ground. The developers bought it as building only; it had ceased trading, I believe.

A lot of the locals speak to us about it, saying they were gutted when the previous management sold up and it became a lifeless hole.

Yeah, to be honest it was already flats when moved into the area. Clearly the 2nd set of management's plan all along was to allow it to fall into disuse to be sold of at hefty profit to developers. You see that quite often, lack of investment, pubs become very run down and dirty, only a few hard core locals use it, pub company then claims it is loss making and not wanted by the community and BANG, it's in the hands of developers...

And in spite where I live, this is the kind of thing that really gets my goat. So many important pillars of the community (OK, good boozers) have been lost like this. If DC wants big society to work, he could try making it more difficult for this kind of thing to happen.

Headhuunter

ketsbaia wrote:

Brelfan wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

If so, you too will doubtless be appalled by the news the Wenlock Arms in N1 is due to close.

Don't despair. It could rise from the ashes like this:

http://www.capitalpubcompany.com/the-florence/

Very handy for Herne Hill velodrome.

A bit stylised for my liking, but it does brew its own beer, which is perfectly palatable.

The Florence bought one of Brockley's few remaining pubs that haven't been converted to flats - The Talbot. They've done a great job of turning it from a run down place on the verge of structural collapse into a busy local pub. A couple of years ago, the owners could easily have flogged it to developers, it was falling down and only frequented by a couple of blokes. Must've been losing money hand over fist. Then it closed altogether. There had been no investment in decades it seemed. Now it's thriving and is often completely full up. The demand for decent pubs is definitely there if they're not allowed to be run into the ground in preparation for a sale.

ketsbaia

Agreed. You just had to look at how full the Wenlock was to realise its importance to the local community and how valued it is. OK, the current owners want out, but I doubt it's because they're not making any money.

deptfordmarmoset

ketsbaia wrote:

Headhuunter wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

spen666 wrote:

@ Ketsbaia - why don't you buy it, or buy it with your friends if it is a good investment

Heh. Would if I could. And not for the investment either.

K - Did you know that "The Winchester" in Shaun of the Dead is round the corner from you in New Cross? It wasn't called The Winchester of course.... Anyway, now it's a block of flats along with almost all the other pubs in the Hatcham Conservation Area!

I know. I *ahem* live in it. :oops:

Hang on, have I got this right? You live in a set from Shaun of the Dead? :?: :!:

ketsbaia

Apparently so.

greeny12

Off-off topic, but the actual Winchester that the ficticious version was based on (and the one frequentd by Simon Pegg before he went 'big time') is still going strong:

http://www.winchester-hotel.com/

Used to be my local before I left London...