Cabbie’s Curios: Lovely Day for a Guinness on Fleet Street
Fleet Street is home to some of the capital’s most historic pubs- one of which is The Tipperary.
The spot upon which this wee pub sits is a location which has long been associated with boozing.
Way back in the 13th century, the land was occupied by the ‘White Friars’ monastery- where the pious monks spent considerable time and effort brewing ale.
White Friars monastery, as seen on the ‘Copperplate’ map in the 1550s, shortly after the Dissolution.
After Henry VIII kicked up a fuss in the 1530s and 40s, such monasteries were wiped from the landscape and the land upon which they stood was turned over to other purposes.
By the 16th century, the first tavern had appeared on the spot now occupied by The Tipperary.
This forerunner was known as The Bolt-in-Tun (the pub sign outside signalling the name with an image of a lightning bolt stuck through a barrel) which, having been built from tough, flame-proof stones belonging to the former monastery, managed to survive the 1666 Great Fire of London intact.
The Bolt-in-Tun eventually became a popular coaching tavern for those traveling between London and the West Country.
Poster advertising coach services from Fleet Street’s Bolt-in-Tun to the West Country (image: Look and Learn)
In the 1880s, the pub was re-built and renamed The Boar’s Head.
However, a reminder of the previous name can still be found across the road- a small alley called ‘Bolt Court’.
Location of Bolt Court (marked in green) which can be found opposite the present day Tipperary pub (A-Z imaging)
Perhaps the most interesting fact for alcohol aficionados though is that the Bolt-in-Tun was purchased in the 1700s by Mooney’s– a Dublin based company.
Once the pub was in their hands, the new owners decided to introduce a new drink which had recently become popular back on the Emerald Isle… a sturdy, black stout, so rich in iron that it was said to be ‘good for you’… the drink was Guinness, and its introduction at the Bolt-in-Tun made the Fleet Street pub the first ever drinking den to sell the now world-famous drink outside of its native Ireland.
One of Guinness’ many famous, classic posters.
During World War One, what was essentially the capital’s first Irish pub attracted many young Irish soldiers as they passed through London.
Irish WWI recruitment poster
Such was the popularity with the Irish squaddies who were a long way from home that the pub was re-christened The Tipperary… the name which remains to this day.
The present day sign for the Tipperary on Fleet Street.
Lower Robert Street… a Ghostly Tunnel in the Heart of London
Mere moments away from the very centre of London there lies a quiet, almost secret little road called Lower Robert Street.
Entrance to Lower Robert Street…
Sandwiched between the Strand and Victoria Embankment and running through a twisting tunnel, Lower Robert Street is a covert cut-through we cabbies sometimes like to use if in the area and wishing to make a quick exit down to Victoria Embankment.
Map showing the location and approximate path (marked in red) of Lower Robert Street
Apart from the echo of the odd Taxi or bike courier, the archaic lane is pretty much devoid of any other traffic or people…
In recent years, Lower Robert Street’s grotto like appearance has gained it a nickname: the ‘Bat Cave‘!
Going underground… the modern extension of Lower Robert Street
Lower Robert Street dates back to the late 18th century, created as a by-product of ‘The Adelphi’; a large housing development consisting of 24 grand, terraced houses.
The Adelphi
The project was developed by four Scottish brothers; John, Robert, James and William Adam, whose fraternal bond blessed the scheme with its name- ‘Adelphi’ being the Greek word for brothers.
Construction began in 1772, with many of the labourers who worked on the project also being Scottish.
Nowadays of course you’ll often hear battered radios crackling away on building sites, but when the Adelphi was being built, music for the toiling workers was provided by a group of specially employed bagpipers!
The Adelphi in later life, shortly before its demolition in the 1930s
Because it was so close to the river Thames, the Adelphi was located on a slope.
The main building – the row of ornate houses- remained level with the Strand, jutting out over the incline.
To fill in the large void below, a complex of vaulted arches and subterranean streets were created- of which Lower Robert Street is now the only remaining example in practical, public use.
Vintage photo of the entrance to Lower Robert Street (image: British History website)
One other vault does exist it can be found in the rather more protected environment of the Royal Society of Arts on nearby Durham House Street:
Remaining Adelphi arches incorporated within the Royal Society (image: Royal Society)
Many famous people lived in the grand apartments above including the actor David Garrick, Richard D’Oyly Carte (founder of the nearby Savoy hotel), Charles Booth (the great, Victorian social reformer) and a number of notable literary figures including George Bernard Shaw, Sir J.M Barrie and Thomas Hardy.
The Adelphi- and in particular the subterranean lair which lurked beneath- was also mentioned in Charles Dickens’ 1850 masterpiece, David Copperfield;
“I was fond of wandering about the Adelphi, because it was a mysterious place, with those dark arches. I see myself emerging one evening from some of these arches, on a little public-house close to the river, with an open space before it, where some coal-heavers were dancing; to look at whom I sat down upon a bench. I wonder what they thought of me!”
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In the late 1860s much of the Thames in central London was reclaimed as part of a vast engineering program to improve the city’s sanitation, the waters pushed back as the wide Victoria Embankment was built.
Victoria Embankment under construction, 1865 (image: Wikipedia)
This major road (which to do this day still conceals a vital sewer) was built right in front of the Adelphi’s lower vaults and roads, robbing them of their tranquil riverside location.
Once cut off from the Thames, the area beneath the Adelphi sank into decline, rapidly becoming a gloomy, foreboding place.
In line with much of Victorian London, the twisting underground roads became a haven for beggars and criminals. As one historian noted; “the most abandoned characters have often passed the night” beneath the Adelphi, “nestling upon foul straw.”
A famous image depicting the appalling conditions in which London’s Victorian poor existed. Such a sad sight would have been common place beneath the Adelphi.
Unsettlingly (and, perhaps unsurprisingly), Lower Robert Street, which was once an ingrained part of this depressing area, has its own resident ghost….
The phantom is known as ‘Poor Jenny’; a prostitute who lived and worked in the depths of Lower Robert Street, the bed upon which she languished being no more than a grotty pile of rags.
Deep within Lower Robert Street…. the haunt of ‘Poor Jenny’…
It is said that late one night, Jenny was throttled by one of her clients… today, her screams and gasps can be heard echoing through Lower Robert Street, the awful noise accompanied by a rhythmic tapping; the sound of Jenny kicking the floor as she fights against the strangulation…
Perhaps that’s why the powers that be choose to close the road every night between midnight and 7am…
The exit to Lower Robert Street, located on Savoy Place
Cabbie’s Curios: In & Out the Eagle
Pictured below is The Eagle, a popular pub located on Shepherdess Walk in Hoxton, North London.
The Eagle Pub, Shepherdess Walk
The Eagle has a long history.
Over the years, several buildings going by the bird of prey’s name have stood on the site, all of which have served differing purposes.
Originally, the Eagle served a far more civilised purpose… it opened as a tea garden with not a drop of booze in sight!
In 1825, the premise was turned into a music hall in order to provide a varied programme of entertainment for the ever increasing population of London.
The Eagle Music Hall, Shepherdess Walk (Image: Bishopsgate Institute)
The Eagle Music Hall quickly became a popular haunt- so much so that Charles Dickens saw fit to include it in one of his earliest works, Sketches by Boz; a series of vignettes about London life first published between 1833-1836.
The sketch in which the famous haunt appeared was entitled, Miss Evans and the Eagle, and it described the music hall in considerable detail:
“There was an orchestra for the singers, all paint, gilding and plate-glass; and such an organ!
Miss J’mima Ivins’s friend’s young man whispered it had cost ‘four hundred pound,’ which Mr Samuel Wilkins said was ‘not dear neither’, an opinion which the ladies perfectly coincided.
The audience were seated on elevated benches round the room, and crowded into every part of it; and everybody was eating and drinking as comfortably as possible… “
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The Eagle also provided a platform for a young Marie Lloyd; a famous Londoner from the music hall era.
Marie Lloyd
Born locally in 1870, Marie Lloyd first performed at the Eagle in 1884 when she was just 14 years old.
By the time Marie was born, Hoxton had become one of London’s toughest districts, characterized by violence and poverty, making the Eagle a rough destination.
Marie’s songs were inspired by the harsh surroundings in which she’d grown up, often reflecting the pathos and tribulations of working-class life.
She was also notorious for being rather lewd; a reputation which led to her being refused entry to the United States in 1913 on the basis of ‘moral turpitude’!
In 1922, Marie collapsed on stage whilst performing at Edmonton (an area just north of Tottenham). She died shortly afterwards, her funeral drawing 100,000 mourners.
She is buried in Hampstead Cemetery.
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By the time Marie Lloyd was preforming, the Eagle (also referred to during this period as the Grecian Theatre) had gained a rather dubious reputation. As well as the booze and general raucousness, the gardens outside had become a well-known red-light area.
The grip which the Eagle held over the local population was summed up in the jaunty tune… Pop Goes the Weasel.
There have been numerous variations on the lyrics involving everything from treacle and rice to monkeys and chicken coops, but the original words (first recorded in 1855) ran thus:
“Up and down the City Road,
In and out the Eagle,
That’s the way the money goes.
Pop! goes the weasel”
These lyrics allude to pawning items in order to gain money for alcohol and loose living.
As mentioned earlier, The Eagle is on Shepherdess Walk, which sits just off of the City Road mentioned in the ditty.
Map showing the location of ‘The Eagle’ on Shepherdess Walk, just off of City Road
A ‘weasel’ when used here is slang for a tailor’s iron and ‘pop’ means to ‘pawn’.
One can only guess how this bawdy number morphed into a popular children’s nursery rhyme!
Today, the catchy rhyme is proudly displayed on a board outside the present day building:
‘Pop Goes the Weasel’… on display outside the present day Eagle tavern
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Thanks to The Eagle’s seedy nature, the Salvation Army thought it would be a good idea to move in and cleanse the place of its sin.
Knowing that premises was being offered for lease, the organisation’s newly installed general, William Booth stepped in to purchase and ‘occupy’ the Eagle.
General William Booth, who ushered in a new phase for the Eagle… (photo: Salvation Army)
The Eagle’s new role as a centre for the Salvation Army proved most unpopular; the locals being pretty miffed that their favourite place for a wild night out had been swapped for more spiritual purposes.
When attempting to sing, the Salvation Army choir would often be drowned out by the jeers of a surly mob. Drunks and pimps refused to move on; many of whom issued violent threats towards General Booth himself. The situation was so bad, that the police were required to intervene and restore order.
The Eagle in its Salvation Army days- note the banner towards the rear of the building (image: Bishopsgate Institute)
In line with their ethos of military-esque organisation, the Salvation Army created a medal to commemorate their taking over of The Eagle; the words stamped upon the broach stating that they “occupied” and “captured” the former den of iniquity.
Medallion commemorating the ‘capture’ of the Eagle music hall (photos: Salvation Army)
The Eagle’s more pious role did not last for very long… in 1901, the Salvation Army centre and former music hall was demolished and a pub was built- the boozer which still stands today.
Eagle crest above the present day building
View from the Mirror 