Mortlake Riverside Pubs - The Ship, Gardeners & White Hart

A riverside ramble through Mortlake. First up is The Jolly Gardeners with its ties to London’s market gardening boom and rowing pioneer Amy Gentry, OBE. Then we head to The Ship, a riverside classic at the finish line of the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, where Victorian crowds once placed rowdy wagers on sculling duels. Along the Thames Path, Eric traces the rise and fall of Mortlake Brewery—from medieval monks to Budweiser and the fierce debates over its 21st-century redevelopment. Finally, we duck into The White Hart of Barnes, a 17th-century gem with Masonic secrets, famous neighbors, and a terrace that still claims the crown as “London’s best riverside pub.” 

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Google map with pubs covered in previous episodes pinned, courtesy of Andy Meddick:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1xXDGJSfJIUy2gw_6uCASi-C45FpOg_M&usp=sharing

Or TinyURL:  https://tinyurl.com/4xhc8w2s

The following resources are referenced or quoted frequently in these episodes:

• https://camra.org.uk/
• https://pubwiki.co.uk
• Wikipedia

Additionally, the  following resource(s) were used / quoted in this episode:

Mortlake history and brewery:

https://mortlake-history.org.uk/ind/gardens.html

https://www.mbcg.org.uk/history/

The pubs:

https://pubnames.co.uk/index.php

https://www.beerintheevening.com

https://www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/ship

https://londonist.com/pubs/pubs/pubs/the-ship-2

https://www.useyourlocal.com/pubs/ship-mortlake-10454/

https://www.whitehartbarnes.co.uk/

Jolly Gardener reviews: https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/24529/

White Hart reviews: https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/24434/

Books:

Captain Sir Richard Frances Burton: A Biography by Edward Rice, ISBN 978-0306810282

London’s Riverside Pubs by Tim Hampson, ISBN 97815048-00211

Intro Music:  Vivaldi - Spring Allegro by John Harrison w/ the Wichita State University Chamber Orch.

Photo:  Richard Rogerson

Website: https://historiclondonpubcast.com/

E-mail: hosteric@historiclondonpubcast.com

Transcript

Welcome to this episode of the Historic London Podcast. I'm Eric Blair, and I'd like to take you on a journey through the rich history of London's iconic pubs. My goal is to share with you my passion for the great old pubs of London. I want to give you some facts to help you appreciate the history of these hallowed establishments mixed in with some fun stories that make it all go down as smooth as a well poured pint. 

Today we're in the southwest of Greater London, just on the south side of The Thames, in an area known as Mortlake. This place goes way back. Mortlake is first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. That great survey, ordered by William the Conqueror to record every bit of taxable land in England. Back then it appeared as Mortelaga, or Mortelage.

The name likely has Old English roots. It might mean salmon stream boarding, a young salmon and loch, meaning a stream of possibly it meant waters, meadow coming from a local dialect word for a marshy strip of land. Either way, it reminds us that Mortlake’s history is closely tied to both the river and the land beside it. 

We'll start with a pub that's about a 10th of a mile south of the river, and then take in a couple of riverside pubs and a lot of history along the way.

First up, The Jolly Gardeners at 36 Lower Richmond Road, a pub called The Three Tuns stood here in 1720 and was renamed The Jolly Gardiners in 1796. You know, dear listeners, we always talk about names. The old pub, The Three Tuns, was a nod to the Worshipful Company of Brewers. That's the Brewers craft beer. The tun was a large cask that could hold 250 gallons of beer or wine.

The image of The Three Tuns was a part of the Guild's Coat of Arms, and it's likely that the pub sign was very similar. The name changed at the end of the 18th century, and it was a reflection of the area's economic driving force at the time. From the late 1600s through the 19th century, Mortlake was a hub of market gardening, growing fruit and veg to help feed the swelling population of London.

At its height, around 1800, the industry covered over 400 acres of local land. What made it possible with soil and a steady supply of compost barges brought in down and night soil from the city, unloaded at places like Ship Lane, where it was carted off to enrich the fields. By the end of the 1800s, market gardening was at its peak, but the 20th century brought change as houses, roads and schools took over.

The gardens begin to vanish. The last commercial plant closed in 1938. Even so, if you wander local back gardens today, you might still spot an old fruit tree or dig up surprisingly rich soil. Quiet reminders of Mortlake’s green fingered heyday. As a side note, you might find it interesting that Mortlake is not the only place in Britain with a pub of The Jolly Gardeners. There are five in total, most of them in London. If pub names are any measure of job satisfaction, Gardeners don't do too badly. Jolly Butchers, Jolly Drovers. Fishermen, Boatmen, Abbeys, Anglers, Brewers and Potters all clocked in as names for between 2 and 4 UK pubs apiece. So, Gardeners land squarely in the middle. A bit cheerier, perhaps, are The Jolly Farmers? 15 of those across the country, but the outright winners, The Jolly Sailors. 26 UK pubs for that name, with two more going by The Jovial Sailor. Clearly life at sea has its perks. Something to consider, perhaps, if you're in the market for a career change. 

CAMRA tells us that from the original pub in the 1720s. There was a rebuild in 1794 and one again in 1922. By amalgamating three reviews from pubsgalore.com,we can get a description of what the pub is like today. 

“A time warp pub to me. Two rooms side by side. The main bar area with seating directly opposite the banquettes and stools, partly carpeted with checkered pattern but with a tiled bar splashback. The room turned slightly to the right, where there was a dart board, as well as hoover and various other domestic items. A side room is served by the end of the bar counter and there a pool table sits, plus a few fragments and football shirts from Brentwood, Aston Villa and the pub's own team. Beyond is a walled garden with a few picnic benches and a large umbrella with radiant heater.”

I kind of like a well-worn feel to my pubs, I guess. Not for everyone. One commenter says, 

“The woodwork looks original, but it's all very utilitarian, part carpeted, part tiled with some burgundy velour studded banquette style seating. Tired and scruffy.”

While another appears to agree with me saying,

“The Jolly Gardeners is a little gem.”

Thanks pubsgalore.com! The full reviews are linked in the notes, so I think you get the picture about The Jolly Gardeners. An analogy comes to mind. I like old shoes. They may be warm, but they are the most comfortable. And hey, you can't deny this pub's historical pedigree. In addition to thinking about the origin of the pub's names, we ask who might have been patrons of note in the pubs we cover. Sometimes we've got receipts, other times we’re in the land of educated guesswork. This is one of those latter cases. 

Amy Gentry, a pioneer of women's rowing in the first half of the 20th century, lived just a nine-minute walk away at 29 Thornton Road. The Jolly Gardeners sits almost in a straight line between her digs and The Thames, a route she must have taken hundreds of times, oar slung over her shoulder, legs aching from another outing on the water.  I wouldn't be surprised if she got in once or twice, especially after a particularly grueling session in the rain. 

Born in 1903 and raised in Barnes (that's the adjacent village). Amy was on the river from the moment she could balance in the boat. In the 1920s, she helped founded the ladies’ section of the Weybridge Rowing Club and not long after began racing in earnest in skiffs, canoes and sculls. She was quick, precise, and utterly dominant. From 1932 to 1934, she was the undefeated champion in the women's single scull. Not one race lost, but perhaps even more impressive, she just didn't win medals, she helped shape the system behind them. Amy served as Secretary of the Women's Amateur Rowing Association for over a decade, and later chaired its successor body all the way through the 1960s.

It was under her leadership that the International Rowing Federation brought the Women's European Championships to London in 1960. A breakthrough moment for British women in sport. And if that wasn't enough, during the Second World War, Amy found herself rowing for a different cause. She became Secretary to the legendary engineer Barnes Wallace, the man behind the famous Bouncing Bomb, a specialized ordnance designed to skip across the water and destroy German dams during World War II. 

During early tests, Wallace would fling wooden prototypes across Silver Mirror Lake and Amy, calm as ever would row out and fetch them. On at least one occasion, she had to bark at him to sit down before she capsized the whole boat. 

“I'm in charge of this vessel,”

she told him. and it's hard to argue with that. For her decades of dedication to rowing, both on the water and behind the scenes, Amy Gentry was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1969. A lifetime of service, strength and not putting up with any nonsense from men standing up in boats. A life well-lived. And what better place to raise a pint in toast to Amy than The Jolly Gardeners? 

Okay, let's head out straight to the river. To our next pub, The Ship. It's right on the river. As we approach it, you might well see rowing crews at work. We just talked about the great rower, Amy Gentry. But it's worth saying a word about the sport as a whole, because rowing is deeply woven into the history of this stretch of attempts. Rowing has deep roots in British culture, well beyond its modern association with elite universities. The annual Oxford Cambridge Boat Race, first held in 1829, remains one of its most visible traditions, and this very stretch of the river between Putney and Mortlake has been its course since the 1840s. But the rise of competitive rowing in Britain was actually broader and more democratic than the genteel rivalry suggests. In Victorian Britain, regattas drew crowds by the thousands, and working-class watermen competed in professional sculling races for serious cash prizes. 

Amateur rowing clubs flourished alongside this vibrant professional scene. The first of these, The Leander Club,was founded in 1818, and by the late 1800s the sport had developed into a divided world. Amateurs, often from the upper classes and pros, mostly watermen who rowed for money. In 1869 the Amateur Rowing Association was formed to draw a clear line barring anyone who had ever, “Rowed for hire or wages” from competing as a gentleman amateur.

But public enthusiasm spanned both camps. Professional sculling matches held along the river stretches, including this one between Putney and Mortlake, were rowdy, high stakes affairs. Star scullers became household names, and a well-placed wager gave the races an added thrill for the average bloke in the pub. Rowing wasn't some distant pastime of the gentry. It was a real contest right there on the water. And if you put money on your man, every stroke counted double. So, keep your eye on the river. You might see folks out there rowing, carrying on the tradition. A link in the chain that stretches back generations at this very spot along the river. 

Here we are now with The Ship. No guesses on how this pub got its name, and I will spare you the count of all the pubs in the country that share that name. It's about 240 in case you're curious. The Ship was built in 1781, according to CAMRA. The pub's website says that its roots go back to 1525. It probably says, 

“Famed for being on the finish line of the Oxford Cambridge Boat Race since 1845.”

Pubwiki’s info would lead one to believe that this originally was a small hotel. The Londonistdescribes it as,

“A gentle, roomy pub with excellent riverside views and a pleasant beer garden,”

 and,

“A pretty relaxed port and food sort of place, with the benefit of Georgian architecture and long Thames views from the terrace.” 

But be advised, this is the case for all but one day of the calendar.

The Londonist continues, 

“One day in April, it becomes a rippling, heaving mass of very humanity as the crowds press in to watch the Cambridge versus Oxford boat Race.” 

Thanks, The Londonist!  So, depending on your preference, come for the excitement and the crowds one day a year, or for the architecture and the river views on all the other days. useyourlocal.com provides a good one sentence summary,

“With all the hallmarks of a traditional English pub and open fire, timber floor and beer garden, The Ship is the most picturesque and inviting pub along the river.”

Okay, out to the walk along The Thames, we'll be heading east along what is called The Thames Path, but if you want to take a detour up to see the University Boat Race stone marking the finish point of the annual race, head west. This part of the path is actually called The Thames Bank.  Proceed for two minutes and there you'll see it.

Its companion stone marking the starting point is over by Putney Bridge, 2.5 miles away by foot. Because the river curves, the length of the race is a bit longer than that. About 4.2 miles. I checked this year's results and Cambridge won both the men's and women's events. 

Walking to our last pub, there's quite a bit of history to talk about. In the area just east of The Ship was the site of the Mortlake Brewery. The Mortlake Brewery stood as a fixture of local industry for over 250 years. One source says that the brewing tradition on the site goes back two centuries before that - 1487, when it was attached to a monastery. The monks love their brew, you know. By 1765, the monks were gone, and two small adjacent commercial breweries were operating side by side. By 1811, these two had merged into a single concern, making the start of a more ambitious operation along the riverbank. The major turning point came in 1852, when the brewery was acquired by Charles John Phillips, the son of a prosperous coal and corn merchant. Backed by his father's wealth, Phillips began buying up neighborhood plots with big ideas for expansion. He even purchased The Ship pub that we just exited. Perhaps as much for its river footprint as its taps. Phillip’s sons eventually sold the growing enterprise to Watneys - a brewing powerhouse at the time, who continued to invest in modernizing and enlarging the site. 

Just as an aside about Watneys. Formerly known as Watney Combe Reid & Company, by around 1900, they were the first British brewer to make a pasteurized beer in the 1930s. Their Red Barrel brand, later just called Red, was a pasteurized product. Eventually, in the 1960s, they had formulated it to have a lower alcohol content and aimed it at students and other young drinkers, but the beer was a failure and resulted in another unintended consequence. Red led to the creation of the Campaign for Real Ale, or, as we usually call it, CAMRA. That had the initial objective of fighting against pasteurization and the general commoditization of beer. 

And since 1971, CAMRA has made a positive contribution to beer and pop culture over their half century of operation. Thanks to Watneys and Red for kicking the hornet's nest - it gave us CAMRA. 

Okay, back to the brewery. By 1960, Mortlake Brewing was a major employer with a workforce of around 1400. But the march of automation brought changes production capacity increase, staffing numbers decline. By the mid-1980s, only 400 workers remained. In 1995, Watneys brewing operations were folded into Courage Brewing, who leased out the Mortlake facility to a new tenant, Anheuser-Busch. The American beer giant began producing Budweiser Lager on the site, a transatlantic chapter that lasted until the brewery's closure in 2015. 

With this relatively large riverside space now available, redevelopment plans began to come forward. Would you think there might be differences of opinions in this matter? If you answered yes, you'd be right. 

When the Mortlake Brewery closed in 2015, developers proposed a massive riverside redevelopment. Over a thousand homes, a secondary school, shops, offices and public spaces. The plan sparked strong local opposition, with groups like the Mortlake Brewery Community Group arguing that it was too dense, too tall and out of step with the area's character. Years of public consultation, redesigns, and even mayoral objection followed. In 2025, a revised plan was finally approved, allowing for around 1075 homes, a school, retail space, and enhanced access to The Thames. While the scheme promises jobs, housing and green space, debate continues whether it strikes the right balance between regeneration and preserving Mortlake’s heritage. So, as you walk along the path, take a good look around. As a noble laureate wrote, “The times, they are changing.” I am certain the new housing when it comes about will be snapped up quickly. Mortlake has been attracting those fleeing London for some time now. 

In the 18th century, London began to be regarded as an increasingly unhealthy place to live, and many of its wealthy citizens chose to settle in the countryside. A number of large houses stood facing Mortlake High Street, with gardens running down to the river. The largest of the survivors is The Lines, a stately house built around 1720. A century later in the 1820s, J.M.W. Turner painted the house and its terrace, and I thought Turner just hung out up in Wapping and Rotherhithe. 

The Lines can best be viewed not from The Thames Path, but over on the parallel Mortlake High Street. While you're over on Mortlake High Street, it's worth taking a short detour to Saint Mary Magdalene's Roman Catholic Church at 61 North Worple Way. Built in the 1850s in the Gothic Revival style, the church has some striking stained glass. Well worth a look. What truly sets it apart is a feature in a graveyard. Tucked beside the church is one of the most extraordinary tombs in London.

A stone tent quietly pitched among the headstones. Half expedition camp. Half memorial. It holds the remains of Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton and his wife Isabel. Now, just to be clear, this is not the hard drinking Welsh actor who haunted The Star Tavern and The Salisbury. This Richard Burton lived a century earlier in the thick of the Victorian Era, a time of global exploration, imperial reach and growing curiosity about the wider world, Burton stood out even then. He didn't just travel. He immersed, observed and recorded. And for his relentless curiosity and linguistic genius (he spoke 25 languages in over 40 dialects), and his refusal to condescend to the cultures he encountered, he remains one of my personal heroes. 

Burton as a soldier, explorer, linguist, and translator was a man who never passed through the world lightly. He wrote extensively about his journeys not to glorify himself, but to document and share what he’d learned. Over the course of his life, he published more than 40 books and countless articles from travelogs and ethnographic studies to bawdy verse, and deeply annotated translations. He slipped into Mecca in disguise, mapped the interior of Africa in search of the Nile source, and immersed himself in the literary and spiritual traditions of India and The Middle East. His English translations of The Arabian Nights and The Kama Sutra were groundbreaking and sometimes controversial, but he always approached with scholarly seriousness and cultural respect. 

The tomb, designed by Lady Isabel after his death in 1890, is carved from sandstone and modeled on the tent they used on expeditions into the Syrian Desert. Decorated with both Islamic and Christian symbols reflecting Isabel's Catholic faith and Richard's admiration for Middle East tradition, it's a fitting tribute to their intertwined lives.

It's now Grade II Listed, a reflection of the high cultural regard that exists for this unique and historically important tomb. And here's the bit that I think is amazing. Around the back there's a little fixed ladder. Visitors are welcome to climb it up to a glass panel that lets you peer inside. You can actually see the coffins of Richard and Isabel Burton lying side by side in the stone tent, a permanent bivouac for two remarkable lives.

I can't think of another grave in London or anywhere else that invites that kind of quiet audience with the distinguished departed. And if any of this has piqued your curiosity about Sir Richard, there's a terrific biography by Edward Rice. See the notes. 

Okay, let's head back toward the river to our final pub today. This is The White Hart, and it's said to be not in Mortlake, in the neighboring village of Barnes. Everything is close here. This pub is just a 12-minute walk along the river from The Ship. The book, London's Riverside Pubs, gives us a snapshot of the pub's history and a bit about its name,

“The White Hart is the oldest pub in Barnes, dating back to 1662, and its terrace is part of the older Tudor roads in the area. The original name was The King's Arms, but the pub changed its name around 1776. Originally pubs were called The White Hart to show loyalty to Richard II. The earliest pub to use this heraldic symbol as a name was probably The White Hart in Spalding, Lincolnshire. However, by the late 18th century the name had almost become synonymous with a tavern and was widely used to denote a good pub.

From 1863 to 1878, the pub here was used for the Masonic meetings held by the Rose of Denmark Lodge. The pub was extensively rebuilt at the end of the 1800s, when the balconies were added, and acquired the grand Edwardian affection. Over the years that grandeur faded, but a recent makeover in 2013 has brought back its former glory.” 

Thank you, London's Riverside Pubs. 

CAMRA gives us a good introduction to today's pub, 

“The ground floor is dominated by a central bar Island, with its taps providing a range of London craft beer. There's a stag's head above the fireplace that uses a gas effect fire. The Terrace Kitchen restaurant is situated on the first floor.”

Judging from the reviews at pubsgalore.com and other sites, The White Hart makes a strong first impression with its grand facade. All cutlers, tears, and decorative stonework. Inside on the first level, the curved wooden island bar that CAMRAmentioned seemed to impress. Along with rolling gear, decoration nodding to the pub's riverside pedigree. There's some original wood paneling and outside a charming terrace with prime river views. A solid spot. Whether you're here for a pint or a plate. 

The upstairs dining seems to be a real hit with the foodies. Over 80% of the reviews on TripAdvisor are very good or excellent. Like most of the riverside locales in London, Barnes is a trendy place, and not just currently. The Composer Gustaf Holtz, famous for his composition The Planets, lived five minutes away at Number Ten The Terrace from 1908 to 1913. I'm sure he must have fancied a pint at The White Hart sometime during that period.

Brian May and Roger Taylor of the band Queen lived about a mile away for a time. Roger Pattinson, the Actor, grew up in Barnes. I don't know how close to The White Hart. The pub's website says that they are, 

“London's best riverside pub.” 

Now that's a bold claim, but all indications are that The White Hart is definitely worth checking out.

And with that, we've come to the end of another episode. There are more pubs to cover in this area, so be sure to look for a second episode. Thanks for walking with us through another corner of London's pub history. If you've got thoughts, questions or a favorite local legend of your own, we're all ears. Reach us at the email in the notes hosteric@historiclondonpubcast.com or and our website historiclondonpubcast.com 

Be sure you are following or subscribe so you stay in the loop and join us next time as we duck into a spot with stories brewed into the walls. Until then, Cheers!