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Antony Cairns’ East End Pubs

November 13, 2013
by the gentle author

When – in the midst of my photographic odyssey around East End watering holes – I discovered Antony Cairns‘ series of pub portraits, I realised I had found a kindred spirit. His soulful photographs manage to record the death and evoke the life of these lost hostelries simultaneously.

An East Ender who studied photography at the London College of Printing in the nineties, Antony printed these intriguing pictures using the Van Dyke Brown process which was commonly used at the end of the nineteenth century when these pubs were in their prime.

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The Albion, Bow Common – (1881-2005)

The Railway Arms, Sutton St – (1881-2001)

The Conqueror, Austin St/Boundary St – (1899-2001)

The Rose, Woolwich

The Flying Scud, Hackney Rd – (1874-1994)

The Crown & Cushion, Market Hill, Woolwich – (1840-2008)

The Victoria, Woolwich Rd, Charlton – (1881-?)

The Tidal Basin, Canning Town – (1862-1997)

The Marquis of Lansdowne – (1838- 2000 & now to be restored)

Photographs copyright © Antony Cairns

You may also like to take a look at

Alex Pink’s East End Pubs, Then & Now

More East End Pubs, Then & Now

The Pubs of Old London

7 Responses leave one →
  1. November 13, 2013

    Wonderful photos. Valerie

  2. Peter Holford permalink
    November 13, 2013

    I always look expectantly hoping to see my family’s defunct pubs – no luck this time! But another different look at buildings and social institutions that were so much a part of East End life. Thank you for sharing, GA.

  3. Lindsey Kerr permalink
    November 13, 2013

    Antony’s use of the Van Dyke Brown process put the past lives of these ghosts of pubs in the picture.

  4. November 13, 2013

    Beautiful prints.

  5. Greg Tingey permalink
    November 13, 2013

    I thoight the “Crown & Cushion” had re-opened, or am I mistaken?

    In the meantime – try the “Camel” in Globe Road?

  6. November 13, 2013

    Rather sad images but I am so pleased they have been captured.

  7. Chris F permalink
    November 14, 2013

    In most of these photos, the pub seems to be the sole survivor of a lost community. The last building still standing in a sea of rubble. I think the saddest looking building is the Victoria on Woolwich Road. It’s difficult to imagine now the life that went on inside those buildings… Very sad.

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