Pubs across London (and indeed the country) are closing at a terrifying rate, so it's pleasing to report that one is set to re-open. In April the Crown & Shuttle on Shoreditch High Street will welcome customers for the first time in 12 years.
Built in 1885, the pub was named for the Huguenot weavers who once lived in the area, and is situated in an architecturally impressive building, but by the time it closed in 2001 it was operating as a strip club. According to Derelict London, it was frequented by City boys and operated by a "Grant Mitchell lookalike", while the female staff "used to come round with a pint glass, you put 50p in and they did a dance on the pool table".
Wisely the new owners have dispensed with the naked flesh and Albert Square doppelgängers and are instead following the well-trod route of the modern retro pub, offering customers a range of craft beer and other tipples. There's also a garden (not that it'll get much use in this weather) and a food truck on site.
The Crown & Shuttle opens at 6pm on 5 April. It's at 226 Shoreditch High Street.
Photo / Alex_Pink
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