The Kray twins drank at several East End pubs, most famously the Carpenters Arms in Bethnal Green, which they owned and used as an office, and the Blind Beggar in Whitechapel, where Ronnie Kray murdered George Cornell. Other haunts included Pellicci's Cafe for food, their Knightsbridge nightclub Esmeralda's Barn, and pubs like the Grave Maurice, The Chequers, and The Brown Bear.
269 Whitechapel High Street, Whitechapel, London Sarah Diemerling A gloomy and uninviting dive, the Grave Maurice was the Krays' favourite watering hole in the early 1960s.
The Carpenters' Arms is a Victorian public freehouse at 73 Cheshire Street in Bethnal Green, East London, England. A few feet from Brick Lane, it is notable as the pub that was bought by the Kray twins, for their mother Violet Kray in 1967.
Its new owner is independent publican Olivier Trotel Dimaria, who plans a light refurbishment. He has bought the lease from the former tenants for £125,000 and will pay the private landlord £75,000 a year in rent.
The Blind Beggar is notorious for its connection to East End gangsters the Kray twins. On 9 March 1966, Ronnie Kray shot and murdered George Cornell, an associate of a rival gang, the Richardsons, as he was sitting at the bar.
The biggest pub owner in the UK is Stonegate Group, operating around 4,500 managed and leased pubs, including well-known brands like Slug & Lettuce and Walkabout, following its major acquisition of Ei Group in 2020, making it the largest pub company by site numbers, according to sources from TDR Capital and Stonegate Group.
At the time of her death in 1983, Karen Carpenter left behind an estate estimated to be worth between $5 million and $10 million, which would be significantly more today (around $15-$29 million in 2024 dollars). Her will directed the bulk of her fortune to her parents and brother, Richard, though she did leave her marital home to her ex-husband.
A London restaurant owned by musician Ed Sheeran has been described as "outstanding" and "lovely". Bertie Blossoms on Portobello Road is described as an "intimate restaurant in the heart of Notting Hill."
The hardest pub to find in London is widely considered to be Ye Olde Mitre, tucked away in a narrow passageway off Hatton Garden (Ely Court, EC1N 6SJ), known for its historical charm, Elizabethan memorabilia, and connection to Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Christopher Hatton.
The twins, of Irish and Romany Gypsy descent, moved from Hoxton to Vallance Road in Bethnal Green at a young age. Encouraged by their grandfather Jimmy Lee, a former boxer, they took up the sport themselves, achieving some success in amateur boxing.
The Farmer's Dog is a pub and restaurant next to the Asthall barrow roundabout on the A40 road in West Oxfordshire near Burford, owned by television presenter Jeremy Clarkson, featured in his "Clarkson's Farm" series.
Sir Ian McKellen came out as gay publicly in 1988, at age 49, during a BBC Radio 3 discussion about the UK's controversial Section 28 law that banned promoting homosexuality. He spoke out against the law, stating he was homosexual and that it was central to his identity, making him one of the first openly gay knights.
The Highwayman Inn on Dartmoor is considered to be the most unusual pub in Britain! The 13th century Inn has a beautiful interior, featuring secret passages and tunnels. The bar is designed to look an old wooden ship... although black section looks like a boot!
The Red Lion, Britain's Most Common Pub Name. Britain's history with its inn signs is like no other. The naming of pubs became common practice during the 12th century, and as most of the population was illiterate, inn names meant there would have to be inn signs.
