Greenwich Tavern
General information
Location1 King William Walk, London SE10 9JH, England
Website
www.greenwichtavern.co.uk

The Greenwich Tavern (formerly the Gloucester Hotel and Gloucester Arms, among other names) is a pub located at 1 King William Walk in Greenwich, London, opposite the northern entrance to Greenwich Park. In 2023 it became the third London location with a rainbow plaque denoting a significant place in LGBTQI+ history, being the location of a key scene in the 1996 film Beautiful Thing.

History

In 1902, the Gloucester Hotel was recorded as being on the site of a former prison used (c 1555) during the reign of Mary I to confine Protestant prisoners.[1] (Later sources record a debtors' prison in Greenwich in 1812, close to a Court of Requests[2] - this term may denote a law court associated with the nearby Greenwich royal Palace of Placentia, or a latter-day 'small claims court' instituted in the 18th and early 19th centuries).

The current building dates back to around the mid 19th century; The Examiner weekly newspaper recorded a fire at The Gloucester Hotel on the corner of Nevada Street (formerly Silver Street) and what was then named King William Street (formerly King Street) in December 1851.[3] The rebuilt Gloucester Hotel was subsequently renamed The Gloucester, The Gloucester Arms, The Greenwich Park Bar & Grill and The Greenwich Tavern.[3][4]

In June 2023, the Greenwich Tavern was announced as the third London location to be marked by a rainbow plaque - used to denote significant people, places and moments in LGBTQI+ history. As the Gloucester Arms, then a well-known gay bar, it was the location of a key scene in the 1996 film Beautiful Thing which was set and filmed in Thamesmead and Greenwich.[5][6][7] The plaque was unveiled at the Greenwich Tavern on 23 July 2023.[8]

References

  1. Webster, Angus Duncan (1902). Greenwich Park: Its History and Associations. Greenwich: H Richardson.
  2. "Debtors' Prison, Greenwich, Kent". The Prison: story of an institution. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Gloucester Arms". Dover Kent Archives: Pub List. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  4. Munro, Ewan. "Greenwich Tavern". Layers of London. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  5. "London Pride 2023: Five rainbow plaques to be installed across London". BBC News. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  6. Perry, Sophie (29 June 2023). "Five rainbow plaques to be installed across London to mark Pride Month". Pink News. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  7. "Beautiful Thing: filming and locations". IMDB. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  8. Nunn, Gary (22 July 2023). "The first gay pub I dared set foot in now has a rainbow plaque. Here's why that matters". Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2023.

51°28′47″N 0°00′26″W / 51.47985°N 0.00718°W / 51.47985; -0.00718

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