Queen's Arms, somewhere in SE1

Sometimes, south of the river, it's hard to tell whether a pub actually is shut. Witness, for instance, the Queen's Arms, somewhere between Bermondsey Spa and Tower Bridge. Nothing to indicate the pub is condemned, for sale or undergoing refurbishment besides the boarded-up windows. I suppose I could have banged on the door demanding a drink to settle the matter, but somehow I didn't feel much inclined to.

The Wheatsheaf, Borough

In January, London lost the famed Astoria venue to make way for the Crossrail project to much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Fewer people noticed that, in the same month, the Wheatsheaf pub at Borough Market (probably the second best in that area, after the mighty Royal Oak) also shut its doors, to make way for the expansion of the Thameslink network. Pretty soon London's rail connections will be the envy of Europe, but there won't actually be anywhere to go when you get here.

Peveril of the Peak, Manchester

To Manchester, where the fate of one of the city centre's best pubs, the Peveril of the Peak on Great Bridgewater Street, hangs in the balance.

The mighty Peveril shut its doors some time last year and is currently up for sale (despite the confusing 'sold' sign seen in this picture).

According to the MEN, the pub is currently going for a very reasonable £212,500. We trust and hope that, "current climate" notwithstanding, some far-sighted entrepreneur will leap at the opportunity to restore this august institution to its former glory.

Kings Arms, Wapping

Not often, but occasionally, I grow weary of south-east London's apparently inexhaustible supply of boarded-up boozers and seek refuge North Of The River. The East London line currently being shut, I recently decided to cross the divide on foot, via the Rotherhithe Tunnel. This is not something I would recommend to fellow pedestrians. Hours later, I emerged blinking and coughing onto Cable Street, and was immediately confronted by the Kings Arms in all its graffiti'd glory. Beady-eyed enterpreneurs may have noticed that it is currently up for sale.


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