Chelsea Short

Get the essence of Episode 49 in under 8 minutes! 

Chelsea Pub Crawl – Bohemians to Billionaires. Groovy!

Website: https://historiclondonpubcast.com

E-mail: hosteric@historiclondonpubcast.com

Transcript

Eric: All right, let's dive in. We're heading to Chelsea, one of London's most famous neighborhoods. I mean, this place is just steeped in centuries of history from way back in the Anglo-Saxon days, right up to the time of Tudor palaces. 

Andy: And get this, by the late 1600s, people were already calling it a Village of Palaces. Can you picture that? It was basically the playground for the wealthy and powerful of its day. 

Eric: So the big question is, how do you even begin to get a taste of all that deep history? Well, if you ask me, there's one perfect way. You visit the places that have seen it all unfold. Its historic pubs. 

Eric: So, our tour kicks off at 35 Old Church Street. It's on to a pub that's changed its identity almost as much as Chelsea itself. Right now, it's known as The Pig's Ear. 

Andy: Okay, so this timeline is pretty wild. It shows you just how many lives this one spot has had. It kicked things off as the Black Lion way, way back in the 17th century. Then flash forward to the 90s it's The Front Page. And for a little while, it was even run by a true Chelsea football legend, Frank Lampard, who called it the Chelsea Pig before it went back to its current name. 

Eric: So, The Pig's Ear, where does that name come from? It's pure classic Cockney rhyming slang. You know, you might hear other rhymes for beer. Things like never fear or oh my dear, but pig's ear is the one.

It's always been the most popular. So, hey, next time you're in London, you can sound like a local and ask for a tiddly wink of pig's ear. 

Andy: And after all those changes, the pub is now back in the hands of the Gladwin brothers. Their whole focus is on creating this warm community hub that has a real classic countryside feel, which is quite a contrast to the bustling city right outside its doors.

Eric: Okay, our next stop takes us down a much darker path. We're heading to the cross Keys, Chelsea's oldest pub, and believe it or not, the scene of a chilling century old murder mystery. 

Eric: Now this place, built way back in 1708, has been an absolute magnet for legends. I mean, the list is just incredible. You've got artists like Turner, famous writers like Agatha Christie and Dylan Thomas, and then musicians from Bob Marley all the way to the Rolling Stones. But, you know, the pubs most famous story? It has nothing to do with any of them talking. 

Eric: Let's set the scene. The date is January 18th, 1920. It's a Sunday. The pub is quiet.

Andy: A police constable is on his patrol when he notices something odd smoke coming from the pub's cellar. So he goes to investigate.

Eric: And what he finds is just horrific. It's the body of the landlady, a 53-year-old woman named Frances Buxton. She had been battered with some kind of heavy instrument, strangled, and then her body was hidden under smoldering sacks. In a clear attempt to cover up the whole crime with a fire. 

Andy: The investigation pretty quickly zeroed in on this mysterious tall man who'd been seen hanging around the pub. A regular had actually warned Frances about him, and she'd replied, yes, that man had been foxing me. I have got him set. She clearly thought she had the situation under control. 

Eric: But here's the thing. That tall man was never found. He just vanished. Over the years you had false confessions. You had dead and tips coming in. But every single lead just went cold. It's just a chilling irony, isn't it? The very same pub where the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie, used to hang out, is home to a real life, gruesome and totally unsolved murder. 

Andy: But the drama at this pub didn't stop in 1920. A century later, it was facing a totally different kind of threat, one that pitted the local community against the powerful forces of modern development. 

Andy: So, in 2012, the unthinkable happened. The owner literally boarded up the windows of Chelsea's oldest pub. He claimed it was losing money and put in an application to turn this incredible historic building into a private, luxury home. 

Eric: And you really couldn't have a clearer conflict. On one side, you've got a developer's plan for a private mansion, complete with a swimming pool in the basement. And on the other, a passionate campaign from the locals who were just desperate to save their historic community hub. 

Eric: And we're not talking about a small fight here. Think about it. That property could have been worth over 10 million pounds as a private house. The pub was almost crushed literally by the massive weight of the London property market. But, and this is the best part, against all odds, the community won. The pub reopened its doors in 2015. 

Andy: And you know, the fight for the Cross Keys wasn't a one off because just around the corner, was another historic pub and a favorite spot of the footballer George Best. In 2011, it faced the exact same threat being turned into a private house, and it was also saved by a dedicated local campaign. So you can really see a pattern here. 

Eric: For our final stop, we're off to one of London's most iconic streets, The King's Road, to check out a pub whose name tells a really cool story about Chelsea's deep artistic heritage. 

Andy: You know, The King's Road itself is like a timeline of counterculture. It started out as a private path for King Charles the Second. But by the 1960s, it was the absolute heart of Swinging London. And then in the 70s, it became the birthplace of punk. Home to Vivienne Westwood's legendary shop. 

Eric: And right on this famous street sits our pub, the Chelsea Potter. That name is a direct shout out to the area's long, long history with ceramics. It's a tradition that kicked off with the Chelsea porcelain factory in the 1700s, was carried on by the Arts and Crafts master William de Morgan, and then, when a new Chelsea pottery opened up nearby in 1952, this pub changed its name just to honor them. 

Eric: So today, surrounded by all the high fashion designer shops on the King's Road, The Chelsea Potter just stands its ground. A comfy classic British pub offering a warm welcome, kind of pushing back against that tide of modernity. 

Andy: One visitor put it perfectly after walking past shop after shop of designer labels. They said it was a relief to actually see a pub and they loved it. The staff treated them as an individual and not a number. And that just captures the unique role these places play, doesn't it? 

Eric: So, you see, these pubs are just so much more than a place to grab a pint. They're like living, breathing museums. Each one is packed with stories of celebrities, of tragedy, of community spirit and pure survival. And it really makes you think, doesn't it? What kind of stories are hiding in your local pub?