Monday 23 November 2020

The Secret of 137 Houndsditch

 

The painting above, dated 1889, shows the ancient Nag's Head pub shortly after some of the adjacent buildings to the South had been demolished to allow for the construction of a new road.

The detailed map below is slightly earlier and shows the layout before the demolition mentioned. The Nags Head is labelled P.H. for Public House and the numbering on the roadway shows that its street address was number 137. It is surrounded by retail shops (S), dwelling houses (D), warehouses, and hat factories.
 

The address of the Nag's Head pub was 137 Houndsditch in the City of London, an address famous (or, let's face it, notorious) as the location of Stephan Goldner's preserved meat manufactory between about 1839 and 1851. The old pub in the painting looks like it has stood on the site for centuries, so where was Goldner's factory really? The answer to this (hopefully) amusing conundrum will be revealed in my next post.

5 comments:

  1. Would you consider adding a 'subscribe via e-mail' link? I'd love to read more of your posts, but rarely check as a 'follower.'

    ReplyDelete
  2. How does this fit with Dickens' part of London?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cindy,
      Good to hear from you!
      Please try the 'subscribe via e-mail' link at the top right of the blog.
      It will be good to know if it works.
      I don't know enough about Dickens to be able to say he was ever in this area but it exactly the era when he was writing some of his most famous works.
      All the best,
      Peter

      Delete
  3. Interesting ! From the painting and map, I wonder what were the dimensions of the PH at 137 Houndsditch?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Soloman,
      The plot it stands on appears to be about 30 by 35 feet.

      Delete

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