Here it is in 1958, the year it opened in Kennington:
And here’s a later photo:
Category Archives: Central Kennington
Russell Brand tours Kennington
Another of our Kennington predictions for 2014 comes true – Russell Brand tours Kennington from 3 minutes 30 in this video:
Bob Marley, Elvis Presley and The Beatles in Kennington
Bob visited and played football in Kennington Park in 1977. We recently came across this photo:
Plus, quite a coup for the North Lambeth L&R Club – they’ve only got Elvis and The Beatles performing tonight:
Invader in Kennington
Is this a genuine Invader piece above an estate agent at Kennington Cross?
How long has it been there?
Some kind of trailer for the Damien Hirst Gallery perhaps?
And how about this huge one above the Windmill Pub in North West Kennington, just behind Albert Embankment?
The Dog House’s hay bales
We have been critical of The Dog House under its new management so we thought we should point out one thing they’ve got magnificently right for summer: hay bales! The hay bales have disappeared since we wrote this post. Ho hum.
Beefeater Gin Distillery
Kennington is the Home of Gin – Burnett’s White Satin gin was made in West Kennington from 1750 onwards, and London’s last surviving gin distillery, Beefeater, has been located on Montford Place since 1958 when it left Chelsea in a bid to move upmarket.
As part of their ongoing commitment to Kennington, Beefeater recently opened a visitors’ centre, so naturally we went along for a tour.
The museum part of the tour has plenty about the dark history of gin in London, when it was known as mother’s ruin.
Here are some different eras of Beefeater bottles:
Only four people know the recipe for the Beefeater blend – the master brewer Desmond and his three stillmen, Keith, Maxim and Leeroy. They all have to have their noses insured and under no circumstances are they allowed to visit Walworth. The visitors centre are happy to tell you the flavourings anyway, and let you sniff them: Seville orange peel, lemon peel, bitter almond, liquorice, orris root, angelica seed, angelica root, coriander, and of course juniper:
Then you step through into the distillery itself:
Beefeater are aiming to make 36 million bottles this year, all of it distilled here, although then they transport the highly alcoholic distilled liquid to Scotland to mix it with water there.
Naturally the tour begins and ends in the gift shop, which plays heavily on the patriotism:
They have a new brew called London Garden which is inspired by the flower garden in Kennington Park, and is only available from the distillery.
The visitors centre is open every day except Christmas Day, and costs £12 for adults, £10.80 for concessions, and is free for under 18s, although they miss out on the free gin and tonic at the end. From mother’s ruin to kid’s day out.
BeeUrban – Kennington’s own honey brand
We’re not just saying this because it’s from Kennington, but BeeUrban’s honey is the finest we’ve ever tasted. It’s so flavoursome and lemon-y, it’s not even comparable to the bland stuff you get in supermarkets. We’d go so far as to say you haven’t really tasted honey until you’ve tasted Kennington honey.
If you’d like to pick some up, and find out more about it, then get along to one of their Keeper’s Lodge open days at the Keeper’s Lodge in the middle of Kennington Park. They’re on July 26, August 30 and September 20 from 11am to 5pm.
They’re also running an introduction to beekeeping on August 17th. This lasts from 11am to 4pm and costs £50. Go to their website for more info.
Alford House Youth Club
This is Alford House Youth Club where We Are The Lambeth Boys was filmed:
It has been in Kennington since 1884, originally on Lambeth Walk:
We Are The Lambeth Boys, as sampled by Morrissey, can be viewed here.
We didn’t know Alford House existed until we read more about We Are The Lambeth Boys recently. It’s on Aveline Street which is yards from Tesco but is one of those streets you’d never walk up unless you were looking for it.
This is their programme of activities. Not bad for 25p:
It’s Kennington’s busiest week ever!
Forget Brazil, it’s all about what’s going on in Kennington for the next few days.
The Pungent Subway opens tonight in a subway underneath the North roundabout in North Kennington, organised by the team behind Save Our Subways. As part of the London Festival of Architecture, the subway passage will be filled with fragrances from herbs and flowers. It’s free, no booking required – just turn up between 6.30pm and 8.30pm today, tomorrow or Saturday.
Pullens Yard Open Studios takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday in East Kennington. Here’s what we wrote about it last year.
The Summer Open Studios also takes place this weekend at Make Space. It’s open from 11am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday with a private view tonight from 6-9pm. Saturday afternoon from 3pm their “performing artists will display their skills with DJing, live musical performances and dance events”. Newnham Terrace, London SE1 7DR.
And last but not least, the ninth annual Kennington Village Fete takes place this Sunday from noon till 4pm in Cleaver Square. We’ll be there, playing the Amazing Human Fruit Machine and stocking up on local honey (you haven’t tasted honey until you’ve tasted this – it really is special).
The best breakfast in Kennington?
As regular readers of this blog will be well aware, Kennington has establishments that cater for most needs, but its one relative weak spot has been places to have breakfast or brunch.
Vergies is the nicest of a number of local cafes that offer fry ups in the greasy spoon mould (although it’s anything but greasy in there).
Toulouse Lautrec serve freshly baked French pastries, freshly squeezed orange juice, freshly pressed orange juice and the creamiest of scrambled eggs on weekends and Bank Holidays, but the service can be a little frustrating (some of the staff have limited English and speaking French to them doesn’t seem to work either).
Brunswick House do a good but short brunch menu.
Tea House Theatre’s breakfast is reviewed here.
Sally White do some breakfast options but add star anise to their granola – why why why?
So it’s with some excitement that we annouce that we now have a new candidate for the title of best breakfast in Kennington – The Tommyfield, who serve breakfast between 8.30am and 11.30am on weekends.
One of us had a homemade granola served with Greek yoghurt and a summer berry pot:
And the other had a serving of buttermilk pancakes which came with blueberry compote and mascarpone cream:
Both were excellent, but the lingering smell of drains which has percolated through the Tommyfield for a while now was more bothersome at breakfast time despite a sash window wide open next to the table.
Even if you’re not staying overnight at the Tommyfield Hotel, you can still enjoy their fragrant breakfast of a weekend, menu here.
