Skip to content

The Alphabet Of Lost Pubs Q-R

November 29, 2016
by the gentle author

Royalty & railways are the two dominant themes in this fifth installment of my series of The Alphabet of Lost Pubs. This time-travelling pub crawl is presented in collaboration with Heritage Assets who work in partnership with The National Brewery Heritage Trust, publishing these historic photographs of the myriad pubs of the East End from Charrington’s archive for the first time.

The Queen Adelaide, 483 Hackney Rd, Bethnal Green, E2 (Opened before 1834, renamed ‘The Hop Picker’ in 1983, renamed ‘Tantrums’ in 1992, renamed ‘Images’ in 1993, then renamed ‘Max’s Bistro’ and this year re-opened as ‘The Queen Adelaide’)

The Queen Adelaide, 54 Ivy St, Hoxton, N1 (Opened before 1891, closed in the sixties and now ‘Ivy St Family Centre’)

The Queen Elizabeth, 9 Graham Rd, Dalston, E8 (Opened before 1864, closed in 2005, converted to a church in 2007 and now residential)

The Queen Victoria, 179 St Leonards Street, Bow, E3 (Opened before 1851, closed in 2001 and now residential)

The Queen Victoria, 78 How’s St, Hoxton, E2 (Opened before 1871 and now demolished)

The Queen’s Arms, 250 Roman Rd, Bethnal Green, E2 (Opened before 1861 but now demolished)

The Queen’s Head, 5 Westham Lane, Stratford, E15 (Opened before 1872 and open today)

The Railway Tavern, 576 Commercial Rd, Limehouse, E1 (Opened before 1877 and open today)

The Railway Tavern, 131 Angel Lane, Stratford, E15 (Opened before 1848 and open today)

The Railway Tavern, 272 Victoria Dock Rd, Canning Town, E16 (Opened before 1891, closed due to bomb damage in World War II and demolished in the sixties)

The Railway Tavern, 2 St Judes St, Dalston, N16 (Opened before 1881 and open today)

The Railway Tavern, 131 Globe Rd, Bethnal Green, E2 (Opened before 1869, closed in 2014 and now being converted to flats)

The Railway Tavern, 30 Grove Rd, Bow, E3 (Opened before 1864, closed in 2000 and now flats)

The Railway Tavern, 339 Mare St, Hackney, E8 (Originally established as ‘Eight Bells’ in 1665, renamed and rebuilt in 1880, rebuilt again in 1955, closed in 2009 and converted to a betting shop, now a phone shop)

The Railway Tavern, 59 Kingsland High St, Hackney E8 (Opened before 1856, rebuilt 1939/40, closed in 2015 and now a restaurant)

The Railway Tavern, 393 Old Ford Rd, Bow, E3 (Opened before 1871, closed in 2001 and now flats)

The Railway Tavern, 186 Plaistow Rd, Plaistow, E15 (Opened before 1878, closed in 2009 and now a supermarket)

The Railway Tavern, 116 West India Dock Rd, Poplar (Opened before 1841, known as ‘Charlie Brown’s’ from 1897 and demolished in 1989 for Limehouse Link Rd)

The Red Lion, 17 Bevis Marks, City of London, EC3 (Opened before 1826, rebuilt in 1965 and renamed ‘The White Horse in 2008)

The Rising Sun, Burdett Rd, Mile End, E1 (Opened before 1869 and now demolished)

The Rose & Crown, 83 Bunhill Row, St Lukes, EC1 (Opened as ‘Excelsior Music Hall ‘in 1869, destroyed by enemy action in 1942)

The Royal Sovereign, 64 Northwold Rd, Clapton, E5 (Opened before 1825 and open today)

The Royal Duchess, 551 Commercial Rd, E1 (Opened before 1882, rebuilt and reopened in 1963, closed in 2015)

The Royal Oak, 57 St Stephens Road, Bow, E3 (Opened before 1848 and recently demolished for a bus turning circle)

The Royal Standard, 126 High Rd, Loughton  (Opened 1862 and converted to nightclub in 1999)

The Royal Standard, Well St, Wellclose Sq, E1 (Opened before 1781, closed in 1922 and now demolished)

The Rydon Arms, 225 New North Rd, Hoxton, N1 (Opened before 1851, closed in 1998 and now residential)

Photographs courtesy Heritage Assets/The National Brewery Heritage Trust

You may also like to take a look at

The Alphabet of Lost Pubs A-C

The Alphabet of Lost Pubs D-G

The Alphabet of Lost Pubs H-L

The Alphabet of Lost Pubs M-P

The Pubs of Old London

At the Pub with John Claridge

At the Pub with Tony Hall

Alex Pink’s East End Pubs, Then & Now

Anthony Cairns’ East End Pubs

12 Responses leave one →
  1. Vince Quinlivan permalink
    November 29, 2016

    No Royal George, or earlier, no Grasshopper in Bethnal Green? 🙁

  2. S. Werner permalink
    November 29, 2016

    Does anyone know WHEN the picture of the Royal Duchess Pub, Commercial Road, was taken?

  3. November 29, 2016

    The Railway Tavern in Dalston is still a great battle

  4. November 29, 2016

    We have checked the Archive documents and believe that the photo of The Royal Duchess Pub was taken in 1950.

  5. Matt Nicholls permalink
    November 29, 2016

    How I love the photos of the old pubs and how I saddened they are departed. On which note I believe the Queen Adelaide on Hackney Road to be resurrected in name at least.

  6. Liz permalink
    November 30, 2016

    Why were so many pubs built on street corners?

  7. Ken Ryan permalink
    December 4, 2016

    When you build rows of houses you are left with an awkward corner, that is befitting to a pub or shop, this also gives focal points from more positions.

    For info, Metro Bank will only occupy a corner site for focal reasons.

  8. J Parham permalink
    December 12, 2016

    No mention of The Queens Head on Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel – for some time known locally as George the Pole’s. Now the Tayab.

  9. Garry permalink
    May 11, 2017

    I live in hope of one day seeing a picture of my great great grandfathers pub ‘The Red Lion’ at 243 Northwold Road. Seeing the Royal Sovereign @ no. 64 gives me hope a picture may exist and turn up one day. The building was destroyed in a bombing raid during ww2.

  10. Janice Perry permalink
    November 2, 2018

    From 1831 Mary Ann Diston Penry and William James Penry kept a Beer and Coffee House in Red Lion Street Spitalfields. Their eight children were born there.

  11. Ken Stewart permalink
    August 8, 2019

    Has anyone got a picture of The Eagle Brewery Tap in Poplar High Street when it was open as a pub

  12. Peter Kurton permalink
    August 25, 2021

    I would just love to see a picture of ‘The Star’ at the end of Planet St on the corner with Morris st. Star place was next to it. (That’s the opposite end to Commercial Rd).

    To get your bearings Planet ?St ran parallel to Winterton St which was itself parallel to Watney St.
    I heard so much about the place growing up.
    Planet St was formerly known as Star Street.
    All was demolished in the early 60s.

    Martha Tabram lodged almost next door at No 4, Star Place and used to drink in the pub.

Leave a Reply

Note: Comments may be edited. Your email address will never be published.

Subscribe to this comment feed via RSS