St George’s Tavern and North Peckham 1989

More pictures from my walk on 27th January 1989. The previous post on this walk is Houses, British Lion & Elmington Estate.

Wells Way, Coleman Rd, Camberwell, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-31
Wells Way, Coleman Rd, Camberwell, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-31

From Camberwell Road I hurried along Bowyer Place and New Church Road to take my next pictures along Southampton Way, going past The Brewers pub (since closed and converted to residential use) and then down Parkhouse Street and on to Wells Way. None of the nine pictures I made on this section of the walk seemed worth putting on-line, perhaps I was hurrying too much.

The view in this photograph has not changed radically, with the row of houses along Wells Way at right still much the same. You can still see the St George’s Tavern some way down Coleman St on the corner of Rainbow St, though it has lost the signage on the wall. It has apparently been there since at least 1851, though it was closed and boarded up, but re-opened in April 2021. But the estate towering above the end of the road is no longer there.

1JKC and St Georges Tavern, Coleman Rd, Camberwell, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-32
1JKC and St Georges Tavern, Coleman Rd, Camberwell, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-32

I didn’t expect to see a Bentley with a personalised number plate on the street close to the ‘friendly neighbourhood pub’. I wondered who might own it, and there were certainly some very dubious characters in the area at the time. The registration plate 1KJC would have been expensive to buy – and now probably well into five figures if available, a serious vanity symbol.

The pub at that time was still owned by Taylor Walker whose Barley Mow Brewery in Limehouse and 1,360 pubs and off-licences and were bought by Ind Coope in 1959 – and brewing ceased the following year. The name was revived and used by another pub owning company for its London pubs from 2010 but then they were taken over by Greene King in 2015 and again re-branded.

Houses, Newent Close, Peckham Grove, Camberwell, Peckham, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-35
Houses, Newent Close, Peckham Grove, Camberwell, Peckham, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-35

6-22 Newent Close, Peckham, were Grade II listed in 1972 as in Peckham Grove, Peckham. The nine linked villas date from 1838. This is a remarkable Regency (or rather immediately post-Regency as Victoria came to the throne in 1837) enclave in the area. These houses are on the west side of the street.

Houses, Newent Close, Peckham Grove, Camberwell, Peckham, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-36
Houses, Newent Close, Peckham Grove, Camberwell, Peckham, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-36

The other end of this short row of houses with the blocks of the North Peckham Estate at the right. These houses were clearly rather run-down when I photographed them.

Houses, Newent Close, Peckham Grove, Camberwell, Peckham, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-22
Houses, Newent Close, Peckham Grove, Camberwell, Peckham, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-22

The houses on the east side of the street have these weighty porches. At right is a part of the Gloucester Grove Estate, one of the five estates often known collectively as the North Peckham Estate. Although this gained a terrible reputation, many former residents have fond memories of living there and the quality of their accomodation.

Houses, Newent Close, Peckham Grove, Camberwell, Peckham, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-24
Houses, Newent Close, Peckham Grove, Camberwell, Peckham, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-24

Another view of houses on the east side of Newent Close. The long block at right is I think part of the actual North Peckham Estate, completed around 1972. The five estates were all part of the largest regeneration scheme ever approved in 1994, and were demolished at a cost of £260m over the next ten years or so.

Houses, Newent Close, Peckham Grove, Camberwell, Peckham, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-26
Houses, Newent Close, Peckham Grove, Camberwell, Peckham, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-26

Another view of this remarkable street with the Gloucester Grove Estate in the background at left. I did take one picture of Nailsworth House on the North Peckham estate but haven’t digitised that.

Cottage Green, Camberwell, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-16
Cottage Green, Camberwell, Southwark, 1989 89-1f-16

Eventually I managed to drag myself away and stop taking pictures of the remarkable short section of street at the top of Peckham Grove – now surrounded by rather mediocre looking properties from the regeneration of the North Peckham estates. I walked back towards Wells Way and down to Cottage Green – where the next post on this walk will begin.

My posts on this walk on 27th January 1989 began at St George’s, Camberwell, Absolutely Board & Alberto.


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One Response to “St George’s Tavern and North Peckham 1989”

  1. […] More pictures from my walk on 27th January 1989. The previous post on this walk is St George’s Tavern and North Peckham 1989 […]

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