Spotted Dog, Forest Gate
51°32′31″N 0°01′23″E / 51.54191°N 0.02295°E / 51.54191; 0.02295
The Spotted Dog is a Grade II listed public house at 212 Upton Lane, Forest Gate, London.[1] It dates back to the late 15th or early 16th century,[1] and was thought to once have been a hunting lodge for King Henry VIII.[2]
History
Leopold Wagner's 1921 book A New Book About London writes of a "huge barn-like structure in the vegetable garden ... (of the pub) ... wantonly sacrificed by the new proprietors in the interest of a bottling store ... (which had) ... anciently enclosed the kennels for a pack of royal hounds". He asserts that when Henry VIII followed the chase in the Essex (Epping) Forest, he "took up the hounds here at Upton" about a mile from the toll-gate which subsequently led to the residential district being named Forest Gate.
Some credence can be attached to this tale because having dissolved Stratford Langthorne Abbey in 1538 and seized all of its enormous land holdings in the borough Henry Vlll used his own money to purchase the nearby Hamfrith Wood from its owner, Sir Anthony Hungerford – presumably to facilitate his love of hunting. Mr Wagner provides some intriguing details in support of his account stating that what became the Spotted Dog was at the time the residence of Henry's Master of the Hounds, who was granted the privilege of taking personal profit for refreshing travellers passing that way.
The author asserts that on this account that, until the Great War, the Spotted Dog "stood alone among the inns of the country at large in having its licence direct from the Crown," adding that:
Few historic hostelries ... have preserved their pristine freshness like Ye Olde Spotted Dog ... (its) ... picturesque, ivy-mantled wooden fabric ... appears very much today as when Daniel Defoe referred to it in his History of the Plague in London ... when ... (in 1665) ... those able to escape came to encamp in the fields round about, and again after the Great Fire the following year." In Mr Wagner's opinion, the Spotted Dog is "the most captivating 'house of call' in the environs of the Great City." He describes a large painting hanging on the west wall of the public bar bearing the arms of the City Corporation and the date of 1603, and constituting a "memorial of the meetings of merchant princes for eight years continuously while an earlier plague carried off thirty thousand souls". Corroboration of this part of Wagner's history is provided by Kenneth Lund, who describes the building as of considerable historical interest.
A plaque used to exist, showing the Arms of the City of London and the date 1603 ... to commemorate meetings which City merchants ... held in the pub during periods of plague.
Development
The pub has been closed since June 2004, and is in a state of serious disrepair.[3] In 2009, the London Fire Brigade posted a notice stating that it was a dangerous structure.[4] In 2014, a campaign group called Save the Spotted Dog campaigned for the pub to be either reinstated as a family pub, or for it to be used for as some other sort of community facility; the group received support from local MPs and Newham Council.[2] In 2020, the council approved plans to renovate the pub and build a 68-room hotel next door.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "Spotted Dog public house (1191297)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Pub closures hit east London – but could the tide be turning?". East London Advertiser. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ "Spotted Dog – still under threat". E7-NowAndThen.org. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ "Forest Gate's Old Spotted Dog". Shady Old Lady. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ King, Jon (20 May 2020). "Bid to transform Old Spotted Dog in Forest Gate gets thumbs up from town hall". Newham Recorder. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
External links
- Save the Spotted Dog campaign
- v
- t
- e
- Admiral Vernon
- Cross Keys
- Eastbrook
- Windermere
- former
- Assembly House
- Black Lion
- Bull & Gate
- The Camden Head
- Cittie of Yorke
- The Crown
- Devonshire Arms
- Dublin Castle
- Fitzroy Tavern
- The Flask, Hampstead
- The Flask, Highgate
- George and Dragon
- Greene Man
- The Holly Bush
- Museum Tavern
- The Old Bull and Bush
- Old Red Lion
- Old White Bear
- Ye Olde Mitre
- The Perseverance
- The Pineapple
- Princess Louise
- The Queen's
- Rising Sun, Fitzrovia
- The Rocket
- Ship Tavern
- Sir Richard Steele
- Spread Eagle
- The Washington
- Wells Tavern
- The Wheatsheaf
- The Winchester
- The World's End
- The Yorkshire Grey
- former
- Aragon House
- Black Lion
- Blue Anchor
- The Cock
- The Cross Keys
- The Dove
- Duke of Cumberland
- Eight Bells
- The George
- Golden Lion
- Hampshire Hog
- The Hop Poles
- Hope and Anchor
- The King's Head
- Laurie Arms
- Princess Victoria
- The Queen Adelaide
- Queen's Head
- Rutland Arms
- Salutation
- The Swan
- Temperance Billiard Hall
- The White Horse
- former
- Coachmakers Arms
- The Favourite
- The Old Fire Station
- Seven Stars
- The Castle
- Queen's Head
- Seven Balls
- former
- Anglesea Arms
- Bunch of Grapes
- Chelsea Potter
- The Churchill Arms
- Coleherne
- The Cross Keys
- Drayton Arms
- Elgin
- Fox and Pheasant
- Gloucester Arms
- The Goat
- The Greyhound
- The Hansom Cab
- The Hollywood Arms
- The King's Head and Eight Bells
- The Phene
- Prince of Teck
- Scarsdale Tavern
- The Shuckburgh Arms
- Windsor Castle
- The World's End
- Zetland Arms
- former
- Crooked Billet
- former
- Boleyn Tavern
- Denmark Arms
- Earl of Essex
- King Edward VII
- Spotted Dog
- former
- Green Man
- former
- Admiral Duncan
- Admiralty
- The Albert
- Angel and Crown
- Argyll Arms
- The Barley Mow
- The Beehive
- Carlton Tavern, Kilburn
- The Champion
- The Cheshire Cheese
- The Clachan
- Coach and Horses, Hill Street
- Coach and Horses, Soho
- Coal Hole
- Comptons of Soho
- Crocker's Folly
- De Hems
- The Devereux
- Dog and Duck
- Duke of Wellington, Belgravia
- The Duke of Wellington, Marylebone
- The Duke of York, Fitzrovia
- The Edgar Wallace
- The Flying Horse
- The French House
- The George
- The Green Man
- The Grenadier
- The Harp
- John Snow
- Lamb and Flag
- The Marquis of Clanricarde
- The Marquis of Granby
- The Mitre
- Morpeth Arms
- Nag's Head
- Nell Gwynne Tavern
- Newman Arms
- The Old Bank of England
- The Old Bell
- The Old Shades
- The Only Running Footman
- Paxtons Head
- Pillars of Hercules
- Plumbers Arms
- Prince Alfred
- The Punch Bowl
- Red Lion, Duke of York Street
- Red Lion, Westminster
- St Stephen's Tavern
- The Salisbury
- The Sherlock Holmes
- The Ship
- The Ship and Shovell
- Silver Cross Tavern
- The Spice of Life
- Star Tavern
- Sun and 13 Cantons
- Swan Inn
- PS Tattershall Castle
- Two Brewers
- Two Chairmen
- The Victoria
- The Warrington
- Warwick Castle
- Westminster Arms
- White Lion
- The White Swan
- The Wilton Arms
- The Yorkshire Grey
- former
- The Bell
- The Black Friar
- The Centre Page
- The Cockpit
- Dirty Dicks
- East India Arms
- George and Vulture
- The Globe
- Hand and Shears
- The Harrow
- Hoop and Grapes, Aldgate High Street
- Hoop and Grapes, Farringdon Street
- Jamaica Wine House
- The Jugged Hare
- Old Bell
- Old Doctor Butler's Head
- Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
- Ye Olde Cock Tavern
- The Olde Wine Shades
- The Punch Tavern
- Rising Sun, Carter Lane
- Rising Sun, Cloth Fair
- The Ship, Hart Street
- The Ship, Lime Street
- Simpson's Tavern
- Staple Inn
- The Tipperary
- Viaduct Tavern
- former
- Bell Savage Inn
- Blossom's Inn
- Boar's Head Inn
- Bull and Mouth Inn
- The Fortune of War Public House
- The Intrepid Fox
- London Tavern
- St Paul's Tavern
- Swan with Two Necks
- The Devil Tavern
- White Hart
- Category
- Commons