Old East End Pubs Remembered on Mural in Bow

A mural celebrating old East End pubs has been painted in Bow. From artist Ben Martin who paints under the name ‘Normally Ben‘. He has written the names in bubble lettering over the side of a series of hoardings. Hidden down an East End street these are all lost pubs. Places that once would have been known but are no more.

Where’s My Boozer Gone?

The project has been supported by Jerram Falkus Construction, Stella Dore Gallery and the Bow Geezers Club. The latter a grouping of Bow enthusiasts who run the website OurBow.com. A facebook page called ‘Where’s My Boozer Gone?‘ also remembers old pubs. Sharing history and remembering stories.

East End Pubs Mural

Many have disappeared as the area of the East End of London has developed. The fact that the mural appears on construction hoardings is another reminder of that. Behind them, new flats will be built. Accessed via Arnold Road, in many ways it’s a throwback. Still boasting some of it’s cobbles, it runs alongside the railway line and still hosts garages housed out of it’s arches.

Normally Ben

Compiling a list of East End pubs which have disappeared. The geezers provided these to Normally Ben and Steph Warren from the Stella Dore Gallery. Ben is an artist known for his use of lettering. It’s a style certainly influenced from graffiti culture. This too is something that the East End also has a history of.

Remembering Lost Pubs

It’s the kind of mural that every time you walk past you’ll probably see something new. The names of the old pubs blend in together. The sheer number of the names highlighting at a glance just how much the area has lost. “Many of the local pubs have been closed, repurposed or even demolished” said the Geezers on OurBow.com. “Yet just the names of these pubs brings back memories of socialising with friends and family. Some people first met their future husbands or wives in an East End pub”.

For more Inspiring City articles you might like, take a look at…

• Bow Colours Mural Painted in East London
• The Seven Stars on Brick Lane the former East End Pub now a Street Art hot spot
• Mural of Sylvia Pankhurst on Lord Morpeth pub
• Bow Palace site of the Great Suffrage Demonstration
• The Old Bow Station and the Bow Palais