Category Archives: Vauxhall

How much has the Kennington pub scene changed?

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As much as we’ve cherished the experience of standing in the middle of Kennington Cross drinking takeaway beers out milk containers, we were brimming with giddy thrill when we learned that pubs would be re opening  on 4 July. Unfortunately the top brass at Kennington Runoff got wind of our excitement and demanded we work over the weekend undertaking a covert pub crawl. Oh, we do suffer for our craft. 

Yesterday your intrepid reporter and three safely selected associates began our journey at the Dog House, as there is outside seating. Ordering is at the bar behind a Perspex screen and you can drink by spaced seats either indoor or out. It didn’t feel different to many other afternoons there, and if anything was more quiet (and they were even showing football). Afterwards we decided to move to the Duchy Arms, as they seem to be the perpetual underdog in the area. With a large garden they are perhaps having their long overdue moment, and the manager at the door explained that they were at ‘safe capacity’ (pic below), which was about 60%. He also helped us to clarify a puzzling riddle we’ve had of late – ‘can you book a table just for a drink’. And the answer is yes.

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  • Duchy Arms

Undaunted, we then moved into Vauxhall and tried to get a table at the ever popular Black Dog. The chirpy doorman explained that they were also at safe capacity and he suggested that we saunter to the other end of Spring Gardens and try the Vauxhall Tavern. The place was very buzzy, gay and straight, and we sat on a table on the stage (!). This was unusually the only place where we needed to leave our name. It also had a very handy method of scanning a QR code and ordering at the table. Afterwards we went to The Pilgrim, but to be honest dear reader this is when our journalistic skills became a bit compromised. But we do remember that people were standing and drinking at the bar, which we’re not really sure is recommended. Hand sanitisers were readily available everywhere.

  • The Black Dog
  • The Vauxhall Tavern

Overall our little tour revealed a pub landscape that, while different, was more normal than we had previously believed. For instance, we thought the toilet situation would be a ‘raise your hand like you’re in year 6’ affair, but it seemed very straightforward. And while people sitting at tables were not distancing, different tables were spaced apart adequately. The success of Kennington pubs and the livelihoods of the people who work there depend entirely on our ability to use them safely, and our verdict is that you can. 

The Pilgrim. Not so sure about this.

A celebration of Kennington pubs

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Do you remember a halcyon time when we could go to a place and have a drink with people we didn’t live with? Well those days will be upon us again in some kind of fashion on 4 July. Some of these pubs are gone forever, some others rebuilt, and few looking amazingly familiar. We could stare at the pictures all day, and enjoy….

The Victorian Elephant and Castle pub in Vauxhall, 1970. Same building, but now ‘Starbucks’.
The King’s Arms pub, Chester Way and Kennington Lane, 1880. Destroyed in WW2, rebuilt 1946.
The Horns Tavern, Kennington Road and Kennington Park Road., 1910. A local institution damaged in WW2 and never really recovered. That and a dislike of Victorian architecture meant its demise in 1965. Now JobCentre Plus and Nisa Foods.
The Roebuck pub, 1972. Still very much there and known as The Dog House.
The Cricketers pub in the Oval standing proudly on game day, 1957. Closed for aeons, but the building is still there.

The Tankard pub, Kennington Road, 1880. Altered through time, but looking amazingly familiar.
The Vauxhall Tavern, 1950. The RVT had shops on either side of it and a thriving community behind until cleared for Spring Gardens in the late 1960’s.
The Prince of Wales, Cleaver Square, 1973. The only thing different is the cars (and the house prices).

From Russia with love

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We here at the Runoff are an absolute minefield of vaguely interesting trivia, but some of it happens to be fascinating indeed.  Did you know that the Russian word for a major rail station is ‘Vokzal’. Remind you of anything? Here’s a clue…think of a lot of dazed clubbers, bus fumes, and a ski ramp. 

Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens (and if you haven’t heard of it, there have been whole books written about it) was one of several  pleasure gardens in London which were enjoyed by the masses until they fizzled out in the mid 19th century. The activities at Vauxhall included fireworks, balloon rides, concerts, and candlelit walks. Vauxhall was hugely influential on the continent and its attractions replicated many times over. Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen was originally called ‘Tivoli and Vauxhall’, in fact. 

The grounds of Pavlovsk Palace near St. Petersburg were converted into pleasure gardens in the 1840’s and called ‘Vokzal’ as a nod to its inspiration in London. The first railway in Russia served the Imperial family and ran between St. Petersburg and the palace itself. When the railway was opened to the public the station was emblazoned with the word ‘Vokzal’. The purpose of this was to indicate the terminus of the train, but the station itself became known as ‘Vokzal’ and this eventually became  the generic term for all rail termini in Russia. 

There are plenty of interesting theories about  how the Vokzal name stuck, including an incorrect one from The Independent about a visiting Russian delegation.  (the Russian railway predates Vauxhall station by a year). Today the name seems to crop up quite a bit across the old USSR, from restaurants to clothing stores…Это увлекательно или как?

Blitz Children

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The other day we were on our permitted one hour perambulation in Vauxhall and stumbled across a quite poignant sculpture. We put it on Instagram (where we’re much more clever) and that started a small conversation about its origins. This spiked our curiosity, so we decided to step back from trying to remember what day of the week it is our hectic schedule of Zoom meetings, to undertake some research. 

Following the war there was a shift from commemorative to public sculpture as a way to lift spirits and add to public enrichment. However, after the war Lambeth were seriously short of cash. Equally skint was Hungarian artist Peter Peri, who was able to make works cheaply by means of applying moulded concrete onto wire mesh. When local authorities began commissioning artists to create works in newly constructed housing estates, he put has name forward and he was commissioned to create three works in Vauxhall and Oval. 

The sculpture in Vauxhall is called ‘Following the Leader’ and was created between 1949-1952. This moving composition depicts children holding hands in a spiral to the sky, as an homage to children killed during the blitz.  Fortunately it is Grade II listed. The other two sculptures are in Oval are of slightly lower quality but still very interesting (both below). ‘Boys Playing Football’ depicts a group of lads doing just that, kitted out in their awkward leather boots. ‘Children Playing’ depicts a mum playing ring o’roses with her children. Curiously, all three works face internal courtyards. Perhaps this testifies to Mr. Peri’s background as a socialist and champion of everyday folk. 

One of our goals as the Runoff is to get people out of the house and explore, but of course this is largely not possible at the moment. But if you find that your daily exercise is getting a tad bit monotonous, set these little gems as your destination:

Following the Leader – on Darley House, Laud St. 

Boys Playing Football – on Wareham House, Carroun St. 

Children Playing – on Horton House, Meadow Road. 

The pieces in Oval are very close to one another.

The top ten best places to eat in Greater Kennington – no. 5 – Daebak

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We’re going to ramp up our top 10 list in tandem with the almost hourly changes happening in our society. All of these places are now closed,  but put them in your little pocket diary for future reference. Most of these places are small businesses, and without our ongoing support they might become estate agents or barber shops never open again. Most of these places offer takeaway via Deliveroo or Uber Eats.

The number 5 prize goes to yet another new kid on the block, the excellent Korean restaurant Daebak in Vauxhall. Daebak is no stranger to plaudits, having been named one of the best Korean restaurants in London  by Time Out shortly after it opened. The venue slightly maintains  the greasy spoon aesthetic of the joint that was previously there, with the highest accolade being that actual Korean people frequent the place.

Daebak means ‘awesome’ in Korean and the meal we had there last year was just that. Three of us ordered soy garlic chicken (a speciality, below), spicy bibimbap,  Katsu curry, crispy tofu, and gyoza. Let me tell you, reader, we were rolling out of there by the end of it. We could have easily dropped one of the main courses as they were huge. We highly recommend the various kinds of fried chicken on order (crunchy, subtle) and the bibimbap is delicious and comes with two veg. variations. I would also experiment with a starter like octopus balls. They also throw in a few Japanese dishes to mix things up. Great food, and pretty kind on the pocket. If you are going on a weekend it might be a good idea to book, as the word has gotten out.

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Please don’t confuse the awesome ‘Daebak’ with the not so awesome ‘Jihwaja’ across the street.   Unless of course your idea of awesome comes with a hearty dose of blaring K Pop and karaoke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Italo Delicatessen Vauxhall

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This is the first in a series of waistband expanding, tedious and delirious posts about local places to stuff yourself silly. This presages the annual Kennington Runoff ‘Ten Best Places to Eat’ which we will reveal in March. *

 Italo Delicatessen is a locally owned, pint sized breakfast and lunch joint nestled in Bonnington Square and has been an institution since 2008. They serve fresh pasta, salads, and even beer and gelato. They also sell more random products like Italian cheese, wine, and even local honey.

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The breakfast options looked very tasty indeed and primarily involve egg dishes (sorry, vegans) such as fried egg with cheese, with relish, and with ham. We however came for a lunchtime sandwich. As with all of their sandwiches, it was made on the spot and involved artichoke and tomatoes on bread from Kennington Bakery. Ham is a big feature with these hearty offerings, but as the menu changes often you’ll need to leave it to fate as to what’s being sold. The only downside about Italo is the seating situation, which can get a bit cramped inside.

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If you’re a regular reader then you know our unhealthy obsession with  ‘ghost signs’. Italo is very lucky to have one on the back of it’s building, below.

By the way, if you are wondering why the Dog House Pub is closed and looking even more ragged than usual, that’s because they are having a major refit. The kitchen is being converted to accommodate a series of pop up menus, and apparently the first on offer is Mexican. We will be of course on tap with a full review (unless it’s crap, in which you’ll receive no review).

*Shameless plug

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Classical Vauxhall

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We don’t know a great deal about classical music, but we do know a thing or five about having a good time in Greater Kennington. If you have the time you could do a lot worse than check out the upcoming ‘Classical Vauxhall’ series. It promotes itself as embodying ‘drama and emotion of classical music in three of Vauxhall’s most quirkiest venues’. This has KR approval stamped all over it, especially when you add in that there will be a bar and a chance to meet lovely locals.

ClassicalVauxhall_Hero_2The fun kicks off on Thursday, 6 Feb. in St. Peter’s Church in Vauxhall. If you’ve never been then you should check it out anyway as it’s a beautiful great mammy of Victorian Gothicness with what we imagine are pretty fine acoustics.

Thursday 6th Feb, St. Peter’s Church – Quatuor Zaide & Fiachra Garvey

 

On Friday, 7 Feb. the classical fun continues at that playground of Georgian reclamation, Brunswick House (home of LASSCO). Now you might be thinking ‘I never really intended on spending my Friday night in a traffic roundabout in south London’ but LASSCO is worth it, if for no other reason then see the amazing if wildly unattainable objects on sale.

 

Friday 7th Feb, Brunswick House – Sean Shibe

Moving northwards and forwards, on Saturday 8th Feb the classical wave vibrates on to a KR fave, the fascinating Gardening Museum located at the side of Lambeth Palace (also Lambeth’s oldest building)

Saturday 8th Feb, Garden Museum – Adam Walker & Fiachra Garvey

 

While you might not know a great deal about classical music either, imagine the fun you can have impressing your friends with a conversation along the lines of this:

SALLY – Hey Paul, get up to anything musical this week?

PAUL – Thanks for asking Sally. Well, I figured out that the giant Daisy on ‘The Masked Singer’ is probably Charlotte Church. You?

SALLY – I went to a classical concert at Brunswick House

drops mic

Winter Interest

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It’s a bit unorthodox to be writing about gardens in the bleak midwinter, but we all need a bit of greenery in our lives, especially when the sky matches the grey Kennington pavements.

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Harleyford Road Community Garden in Vauxhall wsd created by the demolition of a terrace of Georgian properties in the 1970’s which featured inordinately large front gardens. In 1984 the progressive residents of nearby Bonnington Square agreed to work in partnership with Lambeth to turn the site into a place of quiet refuge amongst the nearby smog and snarl.

 

 

 

 

The arboreal product of the partnership  created 36 years ago persists to this day, and even in winter offers a great place for the public to stroll, eat a sandwich, reflect, or just experience an element of silence. The garden is divided into several different areas and includes a children’s play area, lawns, benches, picnic areas, and a mossy green pond. It prides itself on being the only accessible wildlife site in the area.

The Garden is still maintained by volunteers from Bonnington Square,  and it without question possesses the quirky,  ‘planty’. and independent aesthetic of the Square. This is evident in the mosaic wall and paving stones implanted with chipped china  and rocks. In reality the entire layout of the Gardens are the masterwork of Bonnington residents, and well done.

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With no small amount of surreal irony our quiet, pastoral refuge is sponsored by the rather notorious nightclub ‘Fire’. As intrepid and responsible local journalists we approached Runoff management about getting to the bottom of this relationship (in a strictly professional capacity of course) by actually going to Fire at 3am last Saturday. We were rapidly rebuked and informed that this would be ‘inappropriate’ and ‘compromise the ethos of the site’. Well lets see about that and watch this space.

The Gardens are very kid friendly and also placid and safe for people on their own who seek solace and serenity. Enjoy!

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Free Pastis

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Two upcoming free, fun events in Vauxhall and Walworth to sink our little SE11 (and 17 and 1) teeth into to get us into the Christmas spirits, folks! Tomorrow night (Monday) London’s Night Czar and all around good egg Amy Lame will be switching on the lights of the Vauxhall Christmas tree at around 6pm with a little help from a serenading London Gay Men’s Chorus. And you know how we get about freebies, there will be free (no way) pastel de nada (Portugese custard tarts..stick with us) and hot chocolate provided by our friends at Maderia Cafe in Vauxhall… Don’t be late!

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We often have ‘London Guilt’ about not finding time for the great bi annual events at Pullen’s Yard over in Walworth, but this year we’ll be all over it like a Berkeley Homes bulldozer with planning permission. Pullens Yard is an artistic enclave of 60 artist studios set in a Victorian cobbled mews. Over the next week they will be flinging their doors open to show what they do and will have a variety of art and objects to sell. But will there be free tarts, I ask you? If not, our friends at cool The Electric Elephant  will feed ya. Details below….

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A Little History of 20th Century Architecture in Our Realm, Part 2

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Pull those chairs a little closer still, boys and girls, as promised this is the second installment of the Duchy of Cornwall’s influence on the architecture of our area. This time we move forward and north east towards Oval and Vauxhall. Sorry Walworth, we will spread our pixie dust on good yourselves as soon as possible. We’re currently investigating zebras and lions in Pasley Park.

As mentioned last week, the town planner and architect Stanley Ashtead is responsible for the look and feel of much of post Victorian Kennington. He was influenced by the Georgian architecture of Kennington Road and this is heavily in evidence at Kennington Palace Court, below, circa 1922. There are also other examples in Black Prince Road and Sandcroft St. However, at the same time change was afoot in our area, and there was an increasing need for more high density housing.

Following WW1 the Duchy undertook a number of projects to further alleviate some affects of local deprivation. In spite of the Duchy’s many achievements conditions of poor housing endured, and as land became available (called ‘disposals’ for the nerdy sort) London County Council demanded that something be executed. As a response the Duchy sold sites to the east of the Oval to LCC (which later became Lambeth Council).  The Kennington Estate was the result, and the buildings live on as mighty tributes to famous Cricket players of the past, such as George Lohman and Bill Brockwell. You can even see the influence of the Duchy incorporated into the columns at the Oval end of the Cricket ground, if you look closely. If you don’t fancy looking closely we have a picture below

We again post an interesting doc about the Duchy of Cornwall estate and it can be found here. The Kennington funness kicks off at minute 41. If you’ve read this far then you probably have an interest in buildings. If this is the case we are going to a consultation this week about a proposed high rise slated for Kennington Lane, and we will let you know what we find….A case of history repeating, if ever there was one.

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