Monday 30 June 2008

A secret pub - The Royal Oak - (the other one)

I have plenty of exciting updates from this weekend, including the North Lambeth Parish Fete (including a few photos). See, it is possible to attend a different SE11 fete or festival related event each week during the summer. What other postcode can boast such attractions? I'll try to post pictures when I return from work this evening.

This post, however, is on another matter. You should see from the top map that all of the pink markers represent pubs (or clubs) in SE11. There are still a few question marks where I actually need to check whether pubs still exist or their exact names. However, when I formed the map, I referred to Google, a couple of "pub" sites and my own knowledge. I suspected that there was a pub on Fitzalan Street because I was sure I'd walked past it, but I couldn't find anything on Google... Here's my guess as to why....

The Fitazalan Street pub (Kennington) is named "The Royal Oak", exactly the same as the Kennington Lane pub (Vauxhall), which is much better known. I have now added this pub to the top map, but there is surprisingly little information about it. An old blog post by somebody who visited at the end of 2007, last year. There's a mention on the (now apparently defunct) blog of Lambeth Walk Open Space (which the pub looks over), and what might be a number of very old descriptions. It looks like a very comfortable pub, full of locals from the surrounding estates, but I will try to pop in at some stage. Whenever I've walked past, there are always people happily drinking outside. Does anybody have any furthur information?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is bafflingly obscure, that pub. It pitches up on a website called diningoutinlondon.co.uk but apart from that the only references I've found to it are yours and the ones you found (the 'old blog post' from 2007 is mine).
Makes me wonder also how many more are still unfound in back streets. I just found that one by chance - was passing the end of the street, looked along and thought 'that looks like a pub'.

Anonymous said...

also, do you know anything about the 'French Horn' at 49 Lambeth Walk (the far end from the precinct) - that now has a sign on it saying 'The Lambeth Tavern'?
Picture at http://www.flickr.com/photos/16156673@N00/273272406/

SE11 Lurker said...

Chris,

Hooray, comments! It's always good to find somebody interested in old local mysteries. Having only just moved to SE11, I've not yet had a chance to go and visit the secret Royal Oak. When I do, I shall comment furthur! I hadn't seen the dining out site, but was surprised that the pub was mentioned so little. Most landlords do at least attempt to generate some publicity. I presume that there are some pubs that can continue to exist by sheer virtue of local trade. Wandering around some of the back streets around there today, I was struck by the density of housing, so there are a huge number of potential customers in the area.

I've no idea about the "French Horn"/"Lambeth Tavern", but later in the year, I hope to go furthur around the area and take some photos and perhaps write up anything interesting.

Jerry said...

If you mean the Royal Oak at Vauxhall, we went in Xmas Eve 2012. And found it a bit strange...Free Curry was good, and Karaoke..but why did my wife get 'chatted up' by three strange girls on three different occasions ? (the same evening) There was also an annoying £10 min charge on my Bank Card !

Anonymous said...

My Father visited the Royal Oak in Fitzalan Street every Sunday lunchtime (12 noon ) to 2pm in the years from 1956 till his death in 1980 with his friend William Hook who lived in the same road. We lived in the road parallel called Lollard Street. They spent their drinking time doing newspapers crossword puzzles and quiet chat.

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