What a wonderful addition to the great range of books on our local history of Dulwich and Herne Hill! This book is a fascinating read with a rich mix of primary research, gorgeous photos by John East, great images, engravings and maps from Lambeth Archives and Southwark Local Studies library and compelling accounts of the histories of the 40 hostelries featured by authors John Brunton, Laurence Marsh, Ian McInnes and John Walters.
Not just an architectural history, this book explores the intriguing social history and the human dimension of the publicans and their customers, recounting often engrossing individual events that occurred in centuries gone by. The account of the not uncommon hazard in the Victorian era of exploding soda-water bottles is recounted in the entry for the Cambria pub as is a burglary at the former Green Man at Loughborough Junction in 1833 that resulted in a constable with a cutlass giving chase and apprehending the robbers, one of whom was sentenced to transportation to Tasmania.
The book is a both a celebration of the survivors and a nostalgic commemoration of those pubs no longer with us which sadly constitute the majority of the 40 featured establishments. Some closed many moons ago such as those destroyed during the Blitz (e.g. The Sun on Effra Parade and the Royal Oak on Dulwich Road) or those on the Brixton border such as the fine old Windsor Castle on Mayall Road and The George on Railton Road, both burnt out following acts of arson and larceny during the unrest in 1981. However most licensed premises have been lost during the orgy of closures in the last 20 years. Thankfully we are spared photographs of some of the dismal developments that have replaced wonderfully characterful old pubs in recent times.
The grandes dames justly listed by Historic England are showcased – namely the Crown & Greyhound in Dulwich Village, whose reopening (with a boutique hotel added) later this year is keenly anticipated; as is the recently consented refurbishment of the Half Moon in Herne Hill (current buildings both completed in 1896). Others probably deserve heritage protection such as the newly-restored Tulse Hill Hotel, the stately Rosendale and the Italianate-style Paxton at the foot of Gipsy Hill (all erected in the early Victorian era); the 1890s Prince Regent on Dulwich Road with its wonderful ‘streaky bacon' façade of bands of brick and stone; and the quirky George Canning on Effra Road (now the Hootananny), both built in the last decade of Victoria’s reign.
Inter-war and post-war pubs are also described in detail - the charming 1930s art deco style former Hamilton Arms (now a supermarket) on Railton Road and the 1950s Fox on the Hill - an intriguing fusion of the Neo-Georgian and Jacobean/Dutch styles) - both surely good candidates for Local Listing, though in the case of the latter, regrettably Southwark has yet to adopt a Local List. Finally, the entry on the Phoenix is a tribute to all those in the local community who campaigned to save the 1860s Denmark Hill station from demolition after an arson attack in 1980 which was then restored by British Rail and converted into a pub - a highly imaginative and successful conversion of what was a redundant heritage asset.
So all in all, this beautifully presented book is a must-buy for anyone who loves living in Herne Hill and Dulwich, a fabulous record of the Now and the Then, and a reminder to us all when it comes to our local community’s pub assets: Use Them or Lose Them!
Available at Herne Hill Books, The Barber Shop or the Society's website for £9.50.
Edmund Bird
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