If you'd like to find out more about Mr. Stiff, the landlord of the Ship in Talbot Court, and his impressive feat of hiking in 1767, I've made a video about it over on one of my other channels here: ua-cam.com/video/Say6IaU7BiU/v-deo.html
Hello Tweedy, I've recently discovered your UA-cam channels and I enjoy them very much. I live in Canada, where public drinking establishments are dismal, but have been visiting the UK since 1973 when a pint of ale cost 20 pence. My wife and I are coming to London, York, & the Cotswolds in May 2025. I'm making a pub list from your videos to use when we are there. Keep making more videos please. TTFN.
Thank you for the very kind words! I do what I can - I still think this is a bit of an under-served niche here on UA-cam and I'm sure there must be someone else out there who could do a better job of it!
In 1964 I began my working career with a firm of insurance brokers at Dunster House, Mark Lane situated a few minutes walk from all the pubs mentioned in your presentation. So I am familiar with all of them. It was generally the most expensive commodities that were warehoused closest to the city where they were traded. I remember the distinctive aromas of spices and tea in particular. And there was a daily tea auction near the office where I worked. Leadenhall Street was central to this area of the City. Lloyd's Insurance Market took over the impressive building the East India Company previously occupied. Opposite was the Baltic Exchange (for commercial shipping transactions). Further along Leadenhall Street were the offices of various shipping lines such as the Peninsula and Steam Navigation Company (P&O) each had large-scale model ships of their line displayed in their windows for passersby to admire. For the main part, it is only the buildings of pubs that survive from earlier times. Although as you mention, some are of more authentic antiquity than others.
We enjoyed a nice quiet pint upstairs at the Ship on Hart street. Had the whole floor to ourselves while the ground floor was kicking off. Lovely small pub.
Happy (American) Thanksgiving Day to you and yours from the States! Looking forward to the gathering feast with family, friends, and a recently acquired case of Sussex Best from Harvey’s! Sadly, I’ve only had the pleasure of darkening the door of The Ship from this video. Thank you for the marvelous content! I truly appreciate your time and efforts…CHEERS!!!🍻
Before watching I tried to remember anything about Fenchurch, but I couldn’t. Apart from the Ship that you went to before, this was new to me. I would love to be able to travel back to the days when all those bonded warehouses were there. The area would have had such a different atmosphere to today. The East India Arms must be a memory of that, with its red brickwork and I imagine that even 30 years ago it wouldn’t have been so alone. You’d never look at the Cheshire Cheese and know that it was descended from such an old, timber framed building. That’s one of the great things about Tweedy Pubs and I think it’s been an eye opener to me, how often these Victorian pubs replaced much older establishments. Very impressed that you invested time drawing its predecessor and the sketch gave a good impression of what it was like. The first Ship is such a fine building and I probably commented before about it being sandwiched between monstrosities! Very interesting run of pubs here in an unfamiliar part of the city.
Spent many a happy night with friends at The Cheshire Cheese. Although we always seemed to congregate on the outside whilst enjoying our drinks. There was always a healthy traffic of beggars and vagabonds passing by. And I once saw a brick coming through a window from inside the establishment. Quite a logistical achievement.
I quite agree - as I said in the video I thought there was something very atmospheric about the outside space. If you just ignore the cars going past and pretend everyone's wearing top hats it could so easily be Victorian! ...and you'r right, a brick flying *out* of a window is not a sight you see very day!
Another nice collection in this one Tweedy. Away in Kendal this weekend, called in at The Ring O Bells. Charming pub. Needed to take our brolly, though. Had to smile, as it was full of mourners having a wake. A member of the family thanked us for coming. We explained our presence and had a lovely exchange.
I worked next to Fenchurch street station in the late 1990s. Used to drink at the Ship & Compass which was demolished. A fascinating part of London and really enjoyed this.
I've always liked the idea of a pub crawl in Fenchurch Street ...It was worth buying in Monopoly to ensure if your opponent made it past the Strand, you still had them!...Not that I was ever able to finish a game of Monopoly ... Between either my sister or I, the board always ended up being flung on the floor 🤣. Brilliant vid Mr Tweedy.
Tweedy - what a great video of pubs down that part of the City. Never having worked that part of town or lived east of London its a mystery to me. Im more a west end/holborn/fleet street drinker. As ever i loved the review of the boozers - a part of London life that hopefully remains timeless - and also the history you provide. Looking forward to the next one.
These cover some of the history of Lloyds including the original Lloyds coffee house which was frequented by ship owners and where the original idea of contributing to a fund to cover losses arose. The end of the Wikipedia page is a bit grim. Have you covered the history of the Houndsditch Warehouse department store in any of your (excellent) videos? My uncle and aunt used to run the nearby "The Kings Stores" when it was a Whitbread pub in the '80s. The Houndsditch Warehouse was where I deduced the sad truth about Christmas! As far as I know they (The Kings Stores) had the first in-pub Pizza Hut. The pizzas were wonderful - so much better than they are now. They used to close at about 8pm on a Friday and not open again til Monday even though "Petty Coat Lane" market - mostly on Middlesex Street - was almost outside their front door on a Sunday. Great memories! Many thanks for the videos! Oliver
Love the pub walks, great stuff. Did you know a Talbot was a hunting dog, now extinct, and features on the coat of arms of Sudbury and some pub signs in Essex as well as the Earls of Shrewsbury.
These videos are excellent - back home in London from Christmas - I thought I knew my hometown better than anyone, apparently not, can't wait to walk in your footsteps. So grateful for all you hard work.
Thank you! I must confess that most of this apparent local knowledge is not just delivered off the cuff - I spent a day or two researching the area beforehand, and this format also gives me the luxury of being able to edit what I've said afterwards so I can cut out any bits which I subsequently realised aren't quite right!
@@TweedyPubs Well your hard work shows. Small fillips mean a lot when, like me, you live in a desert in Saudi Arabia (I kid you not), but my appreciation is genuine. The (half) pints are on me if we bump into each other when I'm next in London.
Spent my early working days in and around Fenchurch St...pint of courage best was always favored than Directors . Yet again a master class video Tweedy
Hi Tweedy. Thank you for another fabulous collection of pubs to savour over, all with interesting exteriors, interiors and beer offerings. Each had a fascinating history, even the more modern interloper! Brilliant stuff 👏👏👍😀🍺
Thanks Andrew! I was in two minds about including the "modern interloper" but it was a good excuse to talk about the Crutched Friars and the beer lineup was quite impressive. I even found something oddly nostalgic about the 1990s write up of the pub from the Evening Standard!
Thank you! Not sure if it makes it better or worse, but the pubs on this occasion were actually slightly cheaper than I expected! I somehow assume everything in the City of London is going to be more expensive then other parts of the metropolis, but in reality it's more likely the touristy bits in the West End that are likely to really price gouge.
@@razzle1964 I remember 50p a pint promotions even in the latter half of the 1990s. Although they were generally in pretty unpleasant venues you wouldn't otherwise want to drink in, and there was much speculation about the purity of the drinks being served.
All the pubs looked very inviting with the Christmas decorations and lights. Again a wealth of historical detail, illustrated by maps and graphics. And on top of that you drew a sketch of a sketch - you surpassed yourself, Tweedy!
Thanks Kathi! Personally I'm never quite mentally prepared for Christmas until December 1st, but I agree it did look cheery. The sketch of a sketch was an act of desperation really! I found something quite fascinating about that scene and it seemed to good to not include it somehow.
@@TweedyPubs It must have been quite a contrast, the ancient Cheshire Cheese pub/coaching inn and right next to it the at that time very modern railway bridge. You got the idea across with just a few strokes in your sketch. I find drawing a rewarding hobby if one actually manages to sit down and get started. Recently I've been trying to do mountain landscapes with pencil and acrylic paint. No masterpieces but hey ... !😀
Really good to watch this video, Tweedy. Very excited to see the pubs in that fascinating area of London. They are somehow so atmospheric and special to those who have worked in the City, as they evoke memories of happy gatherings with past friends and colleagues known through the workplace years, so to speak. Highly enjoyable viewing. Thank you 👌
Thanks Christine! I've never worked in the City myself but when I go to these pubs I'm actually a bit envious of the clearly thriving pub culture there. I got the sense from interactions between people behind the bar and the customers that there were lots of long term regulars at many of these pubs, which is really nice to see.
Really enjoyed that. Looking forward to a point where someone finally invents a Time Machine, specifically so Tweedy can revisit London pubs in bygone times. These videos will more than suffice in the meantime. Cheers!
Hi tweedy. Just brilliant that is a trip down memory lane for me!! Used to drink in those pubs and others around the fenchurch st area. Great little cluster of pubs in a nice part of the city. Brilliant video that I will prob watch again multiple times as I do all your others!! Cheers pal 👍🍺🍺
Thanks Elvis - crikey you seem to know everywhere in London! I really enjoyed doing the research for this one, the area is so densely packed with history.
@@allennicklin1 Thanks Al, and really happy to be providing inspiration! I sometimes get asked here if I've considered doing in-person pub tours but I'm not as good at this "live" as I appear to be with all the luxuries video editing affords. Should I point people in your direction?
Thanks! Yes I did consider the Bell but I eventually decided it was a bit outside of the remit of what I'd consider the Fenchurch Street area to be - so I'll save it for a future video.
Worked on Pepys Street for a few years in the mid 2000's. Chesire Cheese was a regular haunt...made it back there last year for a pint and it's not changed a bit in nearly 20 years really. Also The Goose ( now The Windsor I think ) by the steps back up to the station was a good spot for cheap pints back in the day !
Hey, Tweedy, thanks for your latest episode which as interesting as ever. Nice dissolve historical comparison of the Cheshire Cheese's frontage at 4:10 or so. Keep up the good work. Cheers.
Great video, all nice pubs but The Ship in Talbot Court gets my vote. The article about The Ship in Hart Street brought back a memory with the mention of the word 'ditto'. Sixty years ago my mother ran a secondhand shop and a policeman would visiti with a list of recently stolen goods that she should look out for. The list would read 'Bicycle stolen 11th April 1964 followed underneath by a long list of dates preceded by the word 'ditto'. Of course it meant other bicycles, but I one day asked the police officer what were 'dittos' and what was so appealing about them that so many were being stolen.
Thanks Liam! Similar to that recollection of your youth, as a teenager I had a Saturday job in a shop, and the owner was instructing me on how to fill out an invoice. For one particular box on the form, the word I was told to enter there wasn't familiar to me, but I assumed it was French so I wrote down "ennobliqué". It turns out she was saying N/A.
In recent years, we've been visiting London for a couple of weeks and spending half of that time around the Tower of London area. The Cheshire Cheese under the railway arches is one of our go to pubs. It just has a really nice, relaxed atmosphere. Thanks again Tweedy.
Thanks David! I got the sense from my brief time in the Cheshire Cheese that there were lots of regular customers there - the bar staff seemed to know some of them by name and vice verse. Usually a good sign!
Great video as ever. First time I've actually known all the pubs you've featured as I used to work on Fenchurch Street and then latterly, just before Covid, in the building next to the Cheshire Cheese with it's pedestrian entrance in Lloyd's Ave.
Cheers Tweedy! The Ship in Talbot Court looks to be a fantastic destination. Thank you so much for bringing these delightful videos to us. I'm still trying to locate a local site to purchase Sussex Best from Harvey's. ATB
I agree! Before the Waterloo video I had sort of written them off, thinking they'd always be fly-by-night modern hipster bars... but I've now found at least two in London which have this surprising continuity going all the way back to the Victorian era.
The last time I was in the Cheshire cheese it didn't look that nice..I never thought they would bring it into modernity, I hope it has kept its character..And you are 100 per cent right about the outside ,a totally unique offering..
Cheers Clark! It was actually my first time in that Cheshire Cheese, so I'm not sure how the interior was previous to compare. It did seem though that there were plenty of regulars in there, which is usually a good sign.
I had a great night in the Cheshire Cheese last January, it being the nearest pub to my hotel that was showing the football match I wanted to see. What it lacks in interior design, it more than made up for with the friendliness of the staff, and the cask ale was in great shape. The Munich Cricket Club over the road, while not a pubby pub and definitely modern, is pretty nice too.
Another banger of a video! Love the Tweedy dood! May I suggest a collab with Gary Eats. I would like to know about pub food in addition to what you bring.
Good evening mr Tweedy 😁a excellent video where the Ship looked interesting but I must admit I have never visited unfortunately 😁thanks have a nice weekend 🍺
Perhaps a day trip to Pepy's old stomping grounds in Epsom and Ashtead would make a nice video. I don't think I ever went to Cheshire Cheese, it was a bit too east from where I was working.
Hi John, A very interesting group of pubs centered around the station (did you buy it?🤔🤔🤣🤣 .... maybe you landed on it and had to pay. Is this the start of a monopoly based series? I liked the Cheshire Cheese lurking under the railway arches, top marks for your sketch of the building as it once was!! The frontage of the first of the ships was excellent and the other ship lurking away down an alley a great find. Excellent mapwork and historical investigation richly rewarded with two Half's of Sussex best!! Cheers!!
Thanks David! I often start the research for these videos with a little trepidation that it might not be a particularly fruitful endeavour, particularly for a set of pubs like this where none of them are on CAMRA's list of historic pub interiors... but the history in this area is so dense and rich (and the pubs are so intertwined with that history) that hopefully it carried the video along, even if some of them do look a bit bland and modern inside. I think I have probably covered most of the Monopoly board in these videos! At least a pub very close to most of those locations, if not exactly on that street or adjoining that station. Although nothing to show for Old Kent Road yet...
@@TweedyPubs Well yes I can see your dilemma. Here's an alternative viewpoint!! What is history, when does it start and when does it end? Tweedy Pubs tells the history of these pubs, maybe in the CAMRA guide of 2124 (a hundred years later they will have graced the guide), the new antiquarians of the 22nd century will still be able to look back on your videos to explain there history, even your drawing might get another airing!! You're totally right although not necesarily historic they are in a historic area and intertwinned with it so the videos come to life. I suppose a new pub on a new housing estate might not capture the attention, but there's nearly always a story of what those lands once were. Take the Compass Rose in Portsmouth, a modern non-descript pub built in late 1980s together with the adjoining housing estate (actually its now a restaurant I think), you won't be going there I'm sure but what's interesting about it is thats its built on the former Portsmouth Airport which graced the likes of Amy Johson and whose last flight was with Harold Wilson. I guess that does digress from the pubs but it does show that the intertwinning history adds something to these places. In the last photo on my book on the airport you can just make out the pub being built!! At one time there was only the traditional Monopoly set which we all grew up with, although thats just from a UK perspective, the original game was set in New Jersey. Today all major towns have one. Although its not for sale there is also a board I made for my dad which includes the delights of Hemel Hempstead and Boxmoor Station, Barry Island (sidings), Snowden Mountain Railway and The Loft (well our loft anyway). Have a great weekend!!
@@davidberlanny3308 I quite agree! I may have mentioned before a blog I sometimes refer to when researching these videos: "Where London's history happened - in the pub". I think that's a very apt title. I remember discovering a few years back that the London Monopoly board was not the original one! I found that almost inconceivable.
@@TweedyPubs Yes its a recurring theme in the comments, people playing Monopoly and ending up in arguments. Well worth reading the wiki entry for the games. It was based on one called the Landlords game. A game to show an economy rewarding individuals is better than one where monopolies hold all the wealth. When it became Monopoly the rules were changed and it became more aggresive!! I had to write a peace treaty after so many fights with my sisters, it is annexed to the rules of the game I made for my dads 70th birthday!!
I think I've come across the origin of pubs called the White Horse. An image of a white horse adorns the flag of Hannover. So it may have become a popular pub name during the reign of Hanoverian monarchs. There is the White Horse figure on the hillside at Uffington, but I doubt that was widely known.
That makes a lot of sense! I think there was a similar rise in popularity of names like the Rose and Crown under the Tudors and the Red Lion under the Stuarts. I also think the Seven Stars has something to do with William of Orange, given that the Netherlands had seven provinces around that time.
I was at the Talbot Court Ship on Tuesday. I did think it would be funny to bump into Tweedy as I don’t recall you covering it before. Seems that you were there the same day.
I meant to tell you that New Zealand has regular pubs now. But don't forget we were a British Colony!!! So a lot of the older pubs were based on British pubs!
I wonder when large smoke extractor mechanisms from the days of smoking in pubs ( If indeed that what it was attatched to the ceiling of the East India Arms ) will become historic features ? I liked the Ship . Cheers !
Hahaha - I somehow doubt they'll stand the test of time. I assumed that was a general air conditioning unit - something I barely ever remember seeing in the days when smoking was still allowed in pubs. As it happens around the time of the ban I had just returned from a short spell living in Japan, and I always remember one of the most unconvincing aspects of attempts there to recreate British or Irish style pubs were the massive air conditioning units on the ceilings. Oh and the fact they were sometimes in a small unit on the 15th floor of a very modern sky scraper.
Thank you! Drawing is definitely well outside of my core skill set, if I even have one of those, but hopefully it just about gave a sense of that scene which I found somehow quite fascinating. Something about modernity (the railways bridge) next to an old coaching inn like that.
I've covered a bit of that area in a video on Euston / St Pancras / Kings Cross: ua-cam.com/video/jSssXuBDYPM/v-deo.html Is there much else around there that I missed? I've been to the Somers Town Coffee House a couple of times - it's OK but feels a little bit gastro for me. I'm still sad about the closing of the Bree Louise, that was always my favourite around Euston.
Lots of inspiration there. Thanks! Do think you need to be a bit more experimental with your beers…Saw at least one porter there, much better than your usual fall back Guinness! I’m a Harvey’s man too , but even their full range might be a bit beyond you 😂. My local had Harvey’s Best on today, but served it in a Doombar glass. Wearing sackcloth and ashes tonight.
Yes I think in hindsight at the second Ship there might have been a porter, which might have been a bit more interesting than London Pride. When I'm scanning the pump badges, by the time I get to the third American style pale ale, my eyes tend to glaze over a bit and I find I just bolt for something familiar and safe! I do like Harvey's other beers! I was enjoying their mild in the Royal Oak just the other day.
These cover some of the history of Lloyds including the original coffee house which was frequented by ship owners and where the original idea of contributing to a fund to cover losses arose. The end of the Wikipedia page is a bit grim. Have you covered the history of the Houndsditch Warehouse department store in any of your (excellent) videos? My uncle and aunt used to run the nearby "The Kings Stores" when it was a Whitbread pub in the '80s. The Houndsditch Warehouse was where I deduced the sad truth about Christmas! As far as I know they (The Kings Stores) had the first in-pub Pizza Hut. The pizzas were wonderful - so much better than they are now. They used to close at about 8pm on a Friday and not open again til Monday even though "Petty Coat Lane" market - mostly on Middlesex Street = was almost outside their front door on a Sunday. Great memories! Many thanks for the videos! Oliver
Each to their own, but I personally don't think the atmosphere / sense of history in pubs is a fungible commodity. Some Wetherspoons pubs do have a sense of history, although most of them are relatively modern conversions, and I've done a video on what I think are some of the most interesting ones in London... but a big part of the joy of being in a pub for me is the sense of the centuries of history of people in that space that have come before.
If you'd like to find out more about Mr. Stiff, the landlord of the Ship in Talbot Court, and his impressive feat of hiking in 1767, I've made a video about it over on one of my other channels here: ua-cam.com/video/Say6IaU7BiU/v-deo.html
hi, great vid, love the old pubs. is london porter on tap a popular beer at most pubs? i had it in toronto, really loved it, cheers
Hello Tweedy, I've recently discovered your UA-cam channels and I enjoy them very much. I live in Canada, where public drinking establishments are dismal, but have been visiting the UK since 1973 when a pint of ale cost 20 pence. My wife and I are coming to London, York, & the Cotswolds in May 2025. I'm making a pub list from your videos to use when we are there. Keep making more videos please. TTFN.
Tweedy. You are the GOAT (hello ladies) of pub media. I think you're BRILLIANT.
Thank you for the very kind words! I do what I can - I still think this is a bit of an under-served niche here on UA-cam and I'm sure there must be someone else out there who could do a better job of it!
Great stuff. Used to frequent the cheese and Crutched regularly when working in the City 😊
In 1964 I began my working career with a firm of insurance brokers at Dunster House, Mark Lane situated a few minutes walk from all the pubs mentioned in your presentation. So I am familiar with all of them. It was generally the most expensive commodities that were warehoused closest to the city where they were traded. I remember the distinctive aromas of spices and tea in particular. And there was a daily tea auction near the office where I worked. Leadenhall Street was central to this area of the City. Lloyd's Insurance Market took over the impressive building the East India Company previously occupied. Opposite was the Baltic Exchange (for commercial shipping transactions). Further along Leadenhall Street were the offices of various shipping lines such as the Peninsula and Steam Navigation Company (P&O) each had large-scale model ships of their line displayed in their windows for passersby to admire. For the main part, it is only the buildings of pubs that survive from earlier times. Although as you mention, some are of more authentic antiquity than others.
There's a nice pub in Creechurch Lane called 'The Old Tea Warehouse'.
Nice one Peter...
@@HistoriaLondinensi Thank you for suggesting this. It is not a pub that I can recall visiting from memory. But that is easily remedied!
We enjoyed a nice quiet pint upstairs at the Ship on Hart street. Had the whole floor to ourselves while the ground floor was kicking off. Lovely small pub.
I can't stop to watch your pub crawls. Incredible knowledge! Cheers from Poland.
Lovely video. Great research, stories and film. Quite an addictive watch as all is done with charm, intelligence and you can sketch as well !
Thank you for these very kind words - your comment really made my evening!
Very interesting 😊
Happy (American) Thanksgiving Day to you and yours from the States! Looking forward to the gathering feast with family, friends, and a recently acquired case of Sussex Best from Harvey’s! Sadly, I’ve only had the pleasure of darkening the door of The Ship from this video. Thank you for the marvelous content! I truly appreciate your time and efforts…CHEERS!!!🍻
Thanks Ed, Happy Thanksgiving!
Before watching I tried to remember anything about Fenchurch, but I couldn’t. Apart from the Ship that you went to before, this was new to me.
I would love to be able to travel back to the days when all those bonded warehouses were there. The area would have had such a different atmosphere to today.
The East India Arms must be a memory of that, with its red brickwork and I imagine that even 30 years ago it wouldn’t have been so alone.
You’d never look at the Cheshire Cheese and know that it was descended from such an old, timber framed building. That’s one of the great things about Tweedy Pubs and I think it’s been an eye opener to me, how often these Victorian pubs replaced much older establishments. Very impressed that you invested time drawing its predecessor and the sketch gave a good impression of what it was like.
The first Ship is such a fine building and I probably commented before about it being sandwiched between monstrosities!
Very interesting run of pubs here in an unfamiliar part of the city.
Spent many a happy night with friends at The Cheshire Cheese. Although we always seemed to congregate on the outside whilst enjoying our drinks. There was always a healthy traffic of beggars and vagabonds passing by. And I once saw a brick coming through a window from inside the establishment. Quite a logistical achievement.
I quite agree - as I said in the video I thought there was something very atmospheric about the outside space. If you just ignore the cars going past and pretend everyone's wearing top hats it could so easily be Victorian!
...and you'r right, a brick flying *out* of a window is not a sight you see very day!
Another nice collection in this one Tweedy. Away in Kendal this weekend, called in at The Ring O Bells. Charming pub. Needed to take our brolly, though. Had to smile, as it was full of mourners having a wake. A member of the family thanked us for coming. We explained our presence and had a lovely exchange.
I worked next to Fenchurch street station in the late 1990s. Used to drink at the Ship & Compass which was demolished. A fascinating part of London and really enjoyed this.
I love your videos so much! My pub list increases with every video…cant wait for my next London visit. Hello from USA
Enjoyable as ever.Thank you.
Thank you so much for showing the old newspaper and explaining so clearly. Learnt a lot from your video❤
I've always liked the idea of a pub crawl in Fenchurch Street ...It was worth buying in Monopoly to ensure if your opponent made it past the Strand, you still had them!...Not that I was ever able to finish a game of Monopoly ... Between either my sister or I, the board always ended up being flung on the floor 🤣. Brilliant vid Mr Tweedy.
Thanks Phil! Yes those sibling fights caused by board games sound very familiar!
Another fascinating delve into London pub history 👍🏻 Keep up the good work
Tweedy - what a great video of pubs down that part of the City. Never having worked that part of town or lived east of London its a mystery to me. Im more a west end/holborn/fleet street drinker. As ever i loved the review of the boozers - a part of London life that hopefully remains timeless - and also the history you provide. Looking forward to the next one.
Thank you for your hard work its allways intteresting to hear the history of the Pubs
Thank you, and really glad you hear you like the history bits - I sometimes wonder if some people zone out for those parts!
These cover some of the history of Lloyds including the original Lloyds coffee house which was frequented by ship owners and where the original idea of contributing to a fund to cover losses arose. The end of the Wikipedia page is a bit grim.
Have you covered the history of the Houndsditch Warehouse department store in any of your (excellent) videos?
My uncle and aunt used to run the nearby "The Kings Stores" when it was a Whitbread pub in the '80s.
The Houndsditch Warehouse was where I deduced the sad truth about Christmas!
As far as I know they (The Kings Stores) had the first in-pub Pizza Hut. The pizzas were wonderful - so much better than they are now.
They used to close at about 8pm on a Friday and not open again til Monday even though "Petty Coat Lane" market - mostly on Middlesex Street - was almost outside their front door on a Sunday. Great memories!
Many thanks for the videos!
Oliver
Love the pub walks, great stuff. Did you know a Talbot was a hunting dog, now extinct, and features on the coat of arms of Sudbury and some pub signs in Essex as well as the Earls of Shrewsbury.
These videos are excellent - back home in London from Christmas - I thought I knew my hometown better than anyone, apparently not, can't wait to walk in your footsteps. So grateful for all you hard work.
Thank you! I must confess that most of this apparent local knowledge is not just delivered off the cuff - I spent a day or two researching the area beforehand, and this format also gives me the luxury of being able to edit what I've said afterwards so I can cut out any bits which I subsequently realised aren't quite right!
@@TweedyPubs Well your hard work shows. Small fillips mean a lot when, like me, you live in a desert in Saudi Arabia (I kid you not), but my appreciation is genuine. The (half) pints are on me if we bump into each other when I'm next in London.
Another brilliant video. Thanks again
Wonderful selection, an area I knew well.
Spent my early working days in and around Fenchurch St...pint of courage best was always favored than Directors . Yet again a master class video Tweedy
Thanks Robert - and glad to hear this one was personally relevant for you!
Liked the look of the last Ship, never seen that one, Nicolson's do well at keeping there pubs traditional, and have good beer. Thanks Mr Tweed.
Thanks Russell! Yes I agree Nicholson's have done a good job there.
Hi Tweedy. Thank you for another fabulous collection of pubs to savour over, all with interesting exteriors, interiors and beer offerings. Each had a fascinating history, even the more modern interloper! Brilliant stuff 👏👏👍😀🍺
Thanks Andrew! I was in two minds about including the "modern interloper" but it was a good excuse to talk about the Crutched Friars and the beer lineup was quite impressive. I even found something oddly nostalgic about the 1990s write up of the pub from the Evening Standard!
I’ve recently stumbled across your channel very informative keep up the good work 🔥
£3.15 for a half pint-that's hard to swallow. Thanks for the video; I always enjoy your episodes.
I recall drinking in The Three Crowns, Old Jewry (off Gresham St) back in the day. In the early 80s you could get a pint of John Smiths, for 49p.
Thank you! Not sure if it makes it better or worse, but the pubs on this occasion were actually slightly cheaper than I expected! I somehow assume everything in the City of London is going to be more expensive then other parts of the metropolis, but in reality it's more likely the touristy bits in the West End that are likely to really price gouge.
@@razzle1964 I remember 50p a pint promotions even in the latter half of the 1990s. Although they were generally in pretty unpleasant venues you wouldn't otherwise want to drink in, and there was much speculation about the purity of the drinks being served.
All the pubs looked very inviting with the Christmas decorations and lights. Again a wealth of historical detail, illustrated by maps and graphics. And on top of that you drew a sketch of a sketch - you surpassed yourself, Tweedy!
Thanks Kathi! Personally I'm never quite mentally prepared for Christmas until December 1st, but I agree it did look cheery. The sketch of a sketch was an act of desperation really! I found something quite fascinating about that scene and it seemed to good to not include it somehow.
@@TweedyPubs It must have been quite a contrast, the ancient Cheshire Cheese pub/coaching inn and right next to it the at that time very modern railway bridge. You got the idea across with just a few strokes in your sketch. I find drawing a rewarding hobby if one actually manages to sit down and get started. Recently I've been trying to do mountain landscapes with pencil and acrylic paint. No masterpieces but hey ... !😀
Really good to watch this video, Tweedy.
Very excited to see the pubs in that fascinating area of London.
They are somehow so atmospheric and special to those who have worked in the City, as they evoke memories of happy gatherings with past friends and colleagues known through the workplace years, so to speak.
Highly enjoyable viewing. Thank you 👌
Thanks Christine! I've never worked in the City myself but when I go to these pubs I'm actually a bit envious of the clearly thriving pub culture there. I got the sense from interactions between people behind the bar and the customers that there were lots of long term regulars at many of these pubs, which is really nice to see.
@@TweedyPubs
You are always appreciated for your visits to “pubby pubs” 😁 and your outdoors ones with walks, food and wine. Cheers!
Definitely going to visit The Ship, because we often find ourselves at Pepys's church--St. Olave's. Btw, my wife says your sketch is charming.
Really enjoyed that. Looking forward to a point where someone finally invents a Time Machine, specifically so Tweedy can revisit London pubs in bygone times. These videos will more than suffice in the meantime. Cheers!
Thanks, and agree, pubs are the next best thing to time travel!
Hi tweedy. Just brilliant that is a trip down memory lane for me!! Used to drink in those pubs and others around the fenchurch st area. Great little cluster of pubs in a nice part of the city. Brilliant video that I will prob watch again multiple times as I do all your others!! Cheers pal 👍🍺🍺
Thanks Elvis - crikey you seem to know everywhere in London! I really enjoyed doing the research for this one, the area is so densely packed with history.
As always love this video. There are a great resource for my Big Al’s London Pub Tour. Visited all these pubs for two groups back in March/April.
@@allennicklin1 Thanks Al, and really happy to be providing inspiration! I sometimes get asked here if I've considered doing in-person pub tours but I'm not as good at this "live" as I appear to be with all the luxuries video editing affords. Should I point people in your direction?
@ if you ever do another video in St. Albans (enjoyed the first) contact me, I’d love to meet you. Harvey’s Best is also my go to beer 😁🍺👍
Another great video. The Bell in the vicinity is also worth going to - a small establishment but full of character and very friendly.
Thanks! Yes I did consider the Bell but I eventually decided it was a bit outside of the remit of what I'd consider the Fenchurch Street area to be - so I'll save it for a future video.
Worked on Pepys Street for a few years in the mid 2000's. Chesire Cheese was a regular haunt...made it back there last year for a pint and it's not changed a bit in nearly 20 years really. Also The Goose ( now The Windsor I think ) by the steps back up to the station was a good spot for cheap pints back in the day !
Hey, Tweedy, thanks for your latest episode which as interesting as ever. Nice dissolve historical comparison of the Cheshire Cheese's frontage at 4:10 or so. Keep up the good work. Cheers.
Thanks Martin - and thanks particularly for noticing the dissolve! I always find those very satisfying to do when I have the opportunity.
A really good tour and The Ship has quite a remarkable frontage. I'll have to go back and explore this area now!
Thanks WIC! Yes the Ship is a beauty, and a thriving pub inside too, which is always good to see.
Great video, all nice pubs but The Ship in Talbot Court gets my vote. The article about The Ship in Hart Street brought back a memory with the mention of the word 'ditto'. Sixty years ago my mother ran a secondhand shop and a policeman would visiti with a list of recently stolen goods that she should look out for. The list would read 'Bicycle stolen 11th April 1964 followed underneath by a long list of dates preceded by the word 'ditto'. Of course it meant other bicycles, but I one day asked the police officer what were 'dittos' and what was so appealing about them that so many were being stolen.
Thanks Liam!
Similar to that recollection of your youth, as a teenager I had a Saturday job in a shop, and the owner was instructing me on how to fill out an invoice. For one particular box on the form, the word I was told to enter there wasn't familiar to me, but I assumed it was French so I wrote down "ennobliqué". It turns out she was saying N/A.
@@TweedyPubs Haha that is brilliant!
In recent years, we've been visiting London for a couple of weeks and spending half of that time around the Tower of London area. The Cheshire Cheese under the railway arches is one of our go to pubs. It just has a really nice, relaxed atmosphere. Thanks again Tweedy.
Thanks David! I got the sense from my brief time in the Cheshire Cheese that there were lots of regular customers there - the bar staff seemed to know some of them by name and vice verse. Usually a good sign!
@@TweedyPubs No doubt. We found that to be especially true on game days.
Great video as ever.
First time I've actually known all the pubs you've featured as I used to work on Fenchurch Street and then latterly, just before Covid, in the building next to the Cheshire Cheese with it's pedestrian entrance in Lloyd's Ave.
Thanks Barry - and happy to hear this one was personally relevant!
Cheers Tweedy! The Ship in Talbot Court looks to be a fantastic destination. Thank you so much for bringing these delightful videos to us. I'm still trying to locate a local site to purchase Sussex Best from Harvey's. ATB
You always make very interesting and informative videos. You know so much about history ❤. Great content as usual. I hope you have a wonderful day ❤
Thank you!
Interesting. Wonder if you would consider doing a video on the history of beer in UK? 🇬🇧 🇳🇿
Great post, great research
Thank you!
Pubs under railway arches. Now that's a theme!
I agree! Before the Waterloo video I had sort of written them off, thinking they'd always be fly-by-night modern hipster bars... but I've now found at least two in London which have this surprising continuity going all the way back to the Victorian era.
Always fascinating, Tweedy!
Stay tweedy, brother. And thank you back, from the States!
Thank you!
The last time I was in the Cheshire cheese it didn't look that nice..I never thought they would bring it into modernity, I hope it has kept its character..And you are 100 per cent right about the outside ,a totally unique offering..
Cheers Clark! It was actually my first time in that Cheshire Cheese, so I'm not sure how the interior was previous to compare. It did seem though that there were plenty of regulars in there, which is usually a good sign.
Great video.
Thank you!
Great stuff as always. Will be in the Ship tomorrow (Hart St.) and possibly The Crutched Friar!
Thanks John - I hope you have a great time in those two!
Another enjoyable and of course informative vlog👍🍻
Thanks John!
Nice variety of beer at the Friars'...
I had a great night in the Cheshire Cheese last January, it being the nearest pub to my hotel that was showing the football match I wanted to see. What it lacks in interior design, it more than made up for with the friendliness of the staff, and the cask ale was in great shape. The Munich Cricket Club over the road, while not a pubby pub and definitely modern, is pretty nice too.
Yes I thought staff seemed friendly too, and I agree that goes along way!
Another banger of a video! Love the Tweedy dood!
May I suggest a collab with Gary Eats. I would like to know about pub food in addition to what you bring.
Thanks Jerry! A couple of people have suggested a collab with Gary Eats but I'm not sure there's much in it for him - his channel is massive already!
Good evening mr Tweedy 😁a excellent video where the Ship looked interesting but I must admit I have never visited unfortunately 😁thanks have a nice weekend 🍺
Thanks Mick! Which Ship?
@ the ship pub on Tolport court
@ the pub down the Ally 😁😁
Perhaps a day trip to Pepy's old stomping grounds in Epsom and Ashtead would make a nice video. I don't think I ever went to Cheshire Cheese, it was a bit too east from where I was working.
On the cover of that pub guide featured in the Crutched Friar segment, the chap seen smiling looks suspiciously like Valentine Warner the TV chef.
Could be!
great stuff tweedus
Thanks!
Hi John, A very interesting group of pubs centered around the station (did you buy it?🤔🤔🤣🤣 .... maybe you landed on it and had to pay. Is this the start of a monopoly based series?
I liked the Cheshire Cheese lurking under the railway arches, top marks for your sketch of the building as it once was!! The frontage of the first of the ships was excellent and the other ship lurking away down an alley a great find.
Excellent mapwork and historical investigation richly rewarded with two Half's of Sussex best!!
Cheers!!
Thanks David! I often start the research for these videos with a little trepidation that it might not be a particularly fruitful endeavour, particularly for a set of pubs like this where none of them are on CAMRA's list of historic pub interiors... but the history in this area is so dense and rich (and the pubs are so intertwined with that history) that hopefully it carried the video along, even if some of them do look a bit bland and modern inside.
I think I have probably covered most of the Monopoly board in these videos! At least a pub very close to most of those locations, if not exactly on that street or adjoining that station. Although nothing to show for Old Kent Road yet...
@@TweedyPubs Well yes I can see your dilemma. Here's an alternative viewpoint!! What is history, when does it start and when does it end? Tweedy Pubs tells the history of these pubs, maybe in the CAMRA guide of 2124 (a hundred years later they will have graced the guide), the new antiquarians of the 22nd century will still be able to look back on your videos to explain there history, even your drawing might get another airing!!
You're totally right although not necesarily historic they are in a historic area and intertwinned with it so the videos come to life.
I suppose a new pub on a new housing estate might not capture the attention, but there's nearly always a story of what those lands once were. Take the Compass Rose in Portsmouth, a modern non-descript pub built in late 1980s together with the adjoining housing estate (actually its now a restaurant I think), you won't be going there I'm sure but what's interesting about it is thats its built on the former Portsmouth Airport which graced the likes of Amy Johson and whose last flight was with Harold Wilson. I guess that does digress from the pubs but it does show that the intertwinning history adds something to these places. In the last photo on my book on the airport you can just make out the pub being built!!
At one time there was only the traditional Monopoly set which we all grew up with, although thats just from a UK perspective, the original game was set in New Jersey. Today all major towns have one. Although its not for sale there is also a board I made for my dad which includes the delights of Hemel Hempstead and Boxmoor Station, Barry Island (sidings), Snowden Mountain Railway and The Loft (well our loft anyway).
Have a great weekend!!
@@davidberlanny3308 I quite agree! I may have mentioned before a blog I sometimes refer to when researching these videos: "Where London's history happened - in the pub". I think that's a very apt title.
I remember discovering a few years back that the London Monopoly board was not the original one! I found that almost inconceivable.
@@TweedyPubs Yes its a recurring theme in the comments, people playing Monopoly and ending up in arguments. Well worth reading the wiki entry for the games. It was based on one called the Landlords game. A game to show an economy rewarding individuals is better than one where monopolies hold all the wealth. When it became Monopoly the rules were changed and it became more aggresive!! I had to write a peace treaty after so many fights with my sisters, it is annexed to the rules of the game I made for my dads 70th birthday!!
I think I've come across the origin of pubs called the White Horse. An image of a white horse adorns the flag of Hannover. So it may have become a popular pub name during the reign of Hanoverian monarchs. There is the White Horse figure on the hillside at Uffington, but I doubt that was widely known.
That makes a lot of sense! I think there was a similar rise in popularity of names like the Rose and Crown under the Tudors and the Red Lion under the Stuarts. I also think the Seven Stars has something to do with William of Orange, given that the Netherlands had seven provinces around that time.
I was at the Talbot Court Ship on Tuesday. I did think it would be funny to bump into Tweedy as I don’t recall you covering it before. Seems that you were there the same day.
I was actually there yesterday (Wednesday) - I managed to get the editing done in record time for this video!
I meant to tell you that New Zealand has regular pubs now. But don't forget we were a British Colony!!! So a lot of the older pubs were based on British pubs!
I wonder when large smoke extractor mechanisms from the days of smoking in pubs ( If indeed that what it was attatched to the ceiling of the East India Arms ) will become historic features ? I liked the Ship . Cheers !
Hahaha - I somehow doubt they'll stand the test of time. I assumed that was a general air conditioning unit - something I barely ever remember seeing in the days when smoking was still allowed in pubs. As it happens around the time of the ban I had just returned from a short spell living in Japan, and I always remember one of the most unconvincing aspects of attempts there to recreate British or Irish style pubs were the massive air conditioning units on the ceilings. Oh and the fact they were sometimes in a small unit on the 15th floor of a very modern sky scraper.
Lovely Video.. Is this British East India company?
Not a bad drawing tweedy, great video.
Thank you! Drawing is definitely well outside of my core skill set, if I even have one of those, but hopefully it just about gave a sense of that scene which I found somehow quite fascinating. Something about modernity (the railways bridge) next to an old coaching inn like that.
Do a video of the pubs around Somers Town/Euston.
I've covered a bit of that area in a video on Euston / St Pancras / Kings Cross: ua-cam.com/video/jSssXuBDYPM/v-deo.html
Is there much else around there that I missed? I've been to the Somers Town Coffee House a couple of times - it's OK but feels a little bit gastro for me. I'm still sad about the closing of the Bree Louise, that was always my favourite around Euston.
I think you would also like The Grapes at 14 Lime Street. Might be the nicest of the lot. (I assume it is still there)
That is a cracking pub! I covered it in a video on pubs around Leadenhall Market: ua-cam.com/video/QoKQeQgDTGg/v-deo.html
@@TweedyPubs Thanks - I will have a watch!!
I often drank a pint or two in the East India Arms but I am sure it was a Young's house in those days - the 1970s and early '80s.
Lots of inspiration there. Thanks! Do think you need to be a bit more experimental with your beers…Saw at least one porter there, much better than your usual fall back Guinness! I’m a Harvey’s man too , but even their full range might be a bit beyond you 😂. My local had Harvey’s Best on today, but served it in a Doombar glass. Wearing sackcloth and ashes tonight.
Yes I think in hindsight at the second Ship there might have been a porter, which might have been a bit more interesting than London Pride. When I'm scanning the pump badges, by the time I get to the third American style pale ale, my eyes tend to glaze over a bit and I find I just bolt for something familiar and safe!
I do like Harvey's other beers! I was enjoying their mild in the Royal Oak just the other day.
@@TweedyPubs The Paulaner Munich beer is good too!
Is that your pint, or half,on the bar of the Cheshire?
Around 5:21 - yes that's my half of Landlord I think.
100k subscriber celebration is going to require a city of london to Maidenhead pub crawl now!
This is making me very thirsty 🍺
I can imagine these pubs were frequented by Lloyds insurance underwriters, to pick up information about the condition of ships sailing to India.
That does sound very plausible given the area.
These cover some of the history of Lloyds including the original coffee house which was frequented by ship owners and where the original idea of contributing to a fund to cover losses arose. The end of the Wikipedia page is a bit grim.
Have you covered the history of the Houndsditch Warehouse department store in any of your (excellent) videos?
My uncle and aunt used to run the nearby "The Kings Stores" when it was a Whitbread pub in the '80s.
The Houndsditch Warehouse was where I deduced the sad truth about Christmas!
As far as I know they (The Kings Stores) had the first in-pub Pizza Hut. The pizzas were wonderful - so much better than they are now.
They used to close at about 8pm on a Friday and not open again til Monday even though "Petty Coat Lane" market - mostly on Middlesex Street = was almost outside their front door on a Sunday. Great memories!
Many thanks for the videos!
Oliver
Shrews-bury or Shrows-bury?
Ah yes I did think I had got that wrong.
@@TweedyPubs I think the residents do call it Shrews-bury, and outsiders call it Shrows-bury.
I can say that with all this fresh Tweedy intel I now have it will be easy for me to try these Landlords and Sussexes Best next time in Blighty 😺
Other beers are available! They just happen to be two of my favourites, and I'm happy to see they're widely available in London pubs recently.
So the difference between a public bar, saloon bar?🙄
Like a ploughman's lunch? The Cheshire Cheese
Do they usually have a ploughman's on the menu? Hard to find these days!
Turned down the Fuller's pride u ok brother? 💙
Used 2 drink in d english club, now gone.
Was that sort of opposite the Cheshire Cheese?
Yes,down d little side lane.
why would you pay that much go to wetherspoons
Each to their own, but I personally don't think the atmosphere / sense of history in pubs is a fungible commodity. Some Wetherspoons pubs do have a sense of history, although most of them are relatively modern conversions, and I've done a video on what I think are some of the most interesting ones in London... but a big part of the joy of being in a pub for me is the sense of the centuries of history of people in that space that have come before.