If you walk down the High Street
in Edgware today, you’d be hard pressed for find any pubs, indeed the only ‘traditional’
pub operating in the town centre is The Three Wishes, which ironically is one of the
newest, first opened in 1993 by Wetherspoons, it was orignally called The Blacking Bottle
at the time, it has since gone through several owners before acquiring its
present name in 2006, operating today as a free-house. Meanwhile two further
pubs have been converted into bars/ restaurants, The Beehive has become Zanzi-Bar,
an Indian restaurant/ bar; whilst The Mason’s Arms has turned into Luna Lounge (Clubul
Romanesc), following the sale of the pub in 2012. Going out of town, towards the area that once housed the sleepy hamlet of Upper Hale, both The Jolly Badger (Green Man) and The Railway Tavern are still in business and continue to do good trade. Yet if you look around Edgware,
you’ll also find a number of remnants of former pubs, which once populated the
area. For instance, The Change of Hart lies vacant since it closed in 2020 as
does the nearby Railway Hotel on Station Road, which has remained a derelict
ruin since closing in 2006; going towards the outskirts of town there are
former pubs that have been converted into other uses, The Edge of Town on
Station Road has become a Polish supermarket since it closed in 2012, whilst
The Sparrow on Broadfields Avenue also closed the same year and was later converted
into a Barnardo’s and Tesco Express two years later. Incredibly, over a hundred
years ago there were around twelve pubs operating in the area as of 1914; yet
in the space of a century, due to the combination of local redevelopment
projects, forced closures by PubCo’s or the selling of failing businesses, the
number of pubs in this area has gradually dwindled. In order reach an understanding
of what we have lost, we need to explore Edgware’s extensive pub heritage in
detail.
The George
One of the oldest inns in the
area, it was built c.1454 for travellers journeying through Watling Street. Many
of the oak beams and pillars allegedly came from old ship’s timbers, and the oak
door leading to the saloon bar was carved by hand and reputed to date from the
11th century, it was also used a house of rest for soldiers during
the Wars of the Roses, Nell Gwynne reportedly once stayed here and highwayman Dick
Turpin used it as a haunt. By the 17th century, the surrounding high
street had expanded and become increasingly commercialised, where it featured a
blacksmiths, butchers, tailors, colliers, opticians and a weekly fayre held
every Thursday. Henry Hayley, who ran the inn during this time also operated a
brewery, and the site had expanded to include four buildings enclosing a
courtyard, a long barn stood facing a road, whilst to the back of the site
consisted of a pond, outhouses, brewhouses, and an orchard. During the 19th
century, the pub was rebuilt with a new brickwork structure, consisting of an
amalgamation of two storey buildings with gabled ends, separated by two bays, and
from 1834 onwards it was referred to as a public house, latterly the courtyard
was covered in the early 20th century and turned into a dance hall. The pub was
run during this period by Cannon Brewery who also owned three other pubs on the
high street namely The White Lion, The Boot and The Masons Arms, along with a
further two on the village outskirts, The Hall Arms in Church Lane and The
Green Man in Hale Lane respectively. In 1930, the brewery was taken over by
Taylor Walker, around this time road widening schemes on the High Street and Whitchurch
Lane were on the cards and the council planned to demolish the pub along with The
Masons Arms and the Chandos Arms respectively. News of its closure came as a
shock to local residents, with a reporter at the time stating “for many years,
it was the main place, we might saw the only place in Edgware for dinners,
dances, whist drives, meetings or other such functions.”
The council offered the licensees the opportunity
to transfer of their licence to a new premises in Kingsbury, however the locals
were outraged by this decision and a petition signed by 670 people was organised,
opposing this transfer. They argued that The George was not merely a public house,
but an institution as many functions were held there, and there was nowhere
else to hold them. Ultimately their
efforts failed, and the pub closed early in 1931, the building was subsequently
demolished. The new George Inn was later built in Kingsbury, and continues to operate
to this day.
The Boot
Situated on the junction between the
High Street and Church Lane (Station Road), it was first recorded in 1753; the pub was
smaller than other public houses in the area, it was remarked that the bars
were extremely small, and the roof was so low that a person wearing a hat could
hardly stand upright, it also offered no accommodation for travellers. In an
article from Country Life Magazine from 1903, it is described as “a delightful
red brick building with a green trellis upon its front, and stands up upon the
right side of the street as you look towards St Albans.” The pub was built near the Edgware lockup, a
cage used for confining prisoners prior to their court hearings. Run by Salter
& Co then Cannon Brewery, the pub also went by several names including The
Boot and Spur, The Jack Boot and The Black Boot. By 1913, three other pubs were
sited on the same side of the street. These included The Red Lion, The King’s
Arms and The Surrey Arms, the latter which opened the same year. All three pubs
were larger in size and were deemed to have better facilities and accommodation
than the Boot. The following year, the pub licence was reviewed by the local justices
who presented their case to the Middlesex Licencing Committee, as they were keen
to close the pub as there were too many pubs operating in the area at the time.
They argued “the house was 31 yards from fully-licensed house, 'The Red Lion,' the same side of the road, and about yards from a commodious, well-built, and
fairly new beer house called “The Surrey Arms.” also the same side of the
road. the oilier direction, 220 yards away, was The King’s Arms,” another
fully-licensed house. All of these three houses wore very superior
accommodation to The Boot.”
The committee argued that at the side of
the house, there were two serving windows where customers were served drinks.
They stated this was undesirable, as this often led to obstruction of
traffic from the nearby road, coupled with the fact that the pub was relatively
small in size compared to its neighbouring public houses. Cecil Whitley, who
represented the owners of the pub in the hearing, stated it would be seriously
disputed that the accommodation was poor, it was also noted that the pub had a
sizeable amount of trade. The magistrate’s decision was overturned due to lack
of evidence, they appealed this decision the following year, and this was again
overturned, and the committee, upheld their decision to renew the pub’s
licence. For the next 50 years, the pub continued to trade, despite the road
widening schemes of the 1930’s which saw many of its nearby competitors bite
the dust. Unfortunately, by 1965, the game was up and the pub subsequently
closed; the building was soon demolished and a shopping parade was built in its
place. Fittingly in memory of its former occupant, it was named Boot Parade, a
poignant reminder to the past.
The Chandos Arms
The original incarnation of the Chandos
Arms was situated on the High Street. An inn had reportedly stood on this site
since the 11th century thus making it one of the oldest in the
country; around 1600 it was rebuilt in its final form as a coaching inn, it was
described by L. Salmon as “a beautiful old house with panelled passages,
crooked windows with small panes, and a huge lamp and swinging sign, painted
with the Chandos Arms, hanging out over the street upon a great crossway beam
and post of timber.” Formerly known as the Crane, allegedly it was once owned
by the Losse family (one time owners of the Cannons estate), and one of its
most notable architectural features was its marble fronted fireplace which was
donated from the estate when the mansion was demolished in 1747. During the
18th century, its notable regulars included the composer George Fredrich Handel
(who worked at nearby Cannons as resident composer between 1717-1719) whom frequently
visited the Tavern during this period; Dick Turpin frequented this establishment
residing in the back room where he could quickly escape through the courtyard
when the authorities came knocking, and it was regularly visited by the Duke of
Chandos and his friends, it was even rumoured that there was a secret tunnel
linking the inn with the grand house. Due to its close connection with Chandos,
the pub was renamed The Chandos Arms, and bared their coat of arms over the pub
sign; which was a common feature in pubs at the time in order for travellers to
identify the location in reference to the nearby gentry, particularly pertinent
since the majority of the population were illiterate. In addition to it hotel facilities
the inn was used for other uses, during the 19th century it was used
a location for hustings and polling during elections, members of the Edgware
Congregational Church held services in the upper rooms and the building was
also used as courthouse for the local magistrates, who would hold proceedings
for minor offences every Thursday morning, this lasted until 1913 when Hendon
Courthouse was constructed; and in 1896, a firehouse was constructed to the back of the
building, with a volunteer force of ten firemen. Later, in February 1927,
George Cheshire (then landlord of the pub) applied for the provisional removal
of his licence and to transfer it to a new site on Colindale Avenue, due to the
congestion of pubs in the Edgware area. The following year the local
authorities approved his request, and by 1937, construction of the new pub was
completed, it was named The New Chandos in reflection of its status. It quickly
became popular with workers from the nearby factories, and following a brief
period of closure, it reopened in 2013, under its original name. The pub
continues to operate, and remains a popular fixture with locals, holding
regular live music events and has even been used as a filming location in TV
shows. Meanwhile, the original Chandos Arms was demolished, during the 1930’s
it was used as a motor coach station, and today a branch of Lidl resides over
the former site.
The Change of Hart
Originally known at the White
Hart, a building has stood on this site since the 15th century.
Around c.1600, it was rebuilt as a coaching inn, to serve the passing traffic,
which had become increasingly lucrative. It was constructed as a three-storey
stuccoed structure, with a hipped tiled roof and wooden eaves cornices.
Much of the ground floor was altered during the Victorian era, though traces of
its original architecture were maintained, including the timbering around the
drive-through, which was formerly utilized as a passage way for horses towards the
stables. The pub is unique in the area, for being the only one with architecture
dating back pre 20th century, since nearly all of the other surviving pub
buildings in the High Street were rebuilt during the early 1930’s. During much
of the 20th century, it was run by Taylor Walker, and it featured four
separate serving areas, it also featured a snug, a club room and a large beer
garden. The divides between the separate areas were later taken down, although
many its former hallmarks including the multi-sided bar counter were maintained,
along with its games room at the rear which featured a pool table; yet despite
it appearing large in size, due it’s layout it would often get cramped and
crowded during busy times. In 1972, well preserved 15th century timber beams
were located in a bedroom and in the kitchen attic, thus proving that the original
building was originally a late medieval construction, though the coachyard entrance
and hotel structure however were of later construction. This discovery led the
site to be listed a year later on 8th January 1973. For many years
the pub was known as The White Hart, yet in 1992 it was renamed The Change of Hart; during this period the pub served several real ales including Greene King IPA
(3.6%), Hart Bitter (?) and Tetley Bitter (3.6%), it also offered house beer at promotional
prices and home cooked food. By the 2000’s, the pub had become part of the
Punch Taverns chain, it was sold off and closed in November 2017 and was
converted into Dolce, an Italian restaurant, which too closed in 2020. Today the
building remains vacant, and despite it’s listed status, the upper floors are in
poor condition after unauthorised works. Last April, enforcement notices were
issued, that required a reversal of the unlawful changes to the exterior and
interior fixtures of the site.
The White Lion
The southernmost pub in the high
street, located only a few yards from the bridge that once crossed over the Edgware
Brook. It was first licenced in 1751, and it operated as a coaching inn, much
like its nearby competitors in the area. For much of its existence it was owned by
Trumans, the site was initially modest in size, but in the early 20th
century the site was largely rebuilt and enlarged, which allowed it hold large gatherings
for groups like the Edgware Rotarians to the staff at the local Sainsbury’s store.
Some of the original features were maintained, included the alleged room where
Dick Turpin stayed during his trips to the inn, the pub also featured a number of wall
displays dedicated the area’s connection with the highwayman. Moreover, the pub
held regular events including a weekly Jazz club, held every Sunday night and
it was also popular with fans of the nearby Edgware Town FC, as the grounds incidentally
backed onto pub. The club was established in 1939, the grounds was named The
White Lion in reference to its nearby public house, even its official badge
bared the emblem. The football grounds were also leased by Trumans who ran the
nearby pub, in 1987 the club took Trumans to court when the brewery failed to
renew their lease, as they intended to sell the land for redevelopment. In 1958,
the pub started organising regular live music gigs, when The Two R’s Club established
residency at the venue, with performances every Friday evening; a number of
bands performed here, including The Who. Later in October 1972, the pub introduced
an over 18’s discotheque that took place on Sunday evenings. The pub was later
owned by Scottish and Newcastle, yet trade gradually ebbed away from the pub,
and in 1996 the pub chain announced that the site will be sold and demolished. The
pub’s final landlord Paul Thompson stated at the time “look there’s simply no
trade here, barely anyone comes here, because this is a depressing place.
People want bright places like the new pubs in Harrow town centre. Pubs like
these have had their day.”
The pub closed the following year, and in 2000 it was demolished, a Premier
Inn was later constructed on the site. In 2008, the White Lion ground at
Edgware FC closed following the end of the 2007-8 season, when their main
financial backers revoked funding. The freehold was bought out by Barrett Homes
and turned into a residential development named Zodiac Close.
The Leather Bottle
Sited north of the High Street in
Stonegrove, it was built in 1860. One of two of pubs in Edgware run by Bennett’s
and subsequently Mann, Crossmann & Paulin, during its 142 year existence the pub went through a number of changes, in the early 1920’s it was entirely
rebuilt and enlarged into a two storey building. In 1965, then owners Watney’s
renovated the pub as part of their Schooner Inns project, the interior was
transformed to resemble a Swiss chalet, replete with wood panelled walls and
fittings. Retrowow describes the Schooner Inns initiative as “these were a new
concept in drinking places that aimed to have a wider appeal beyond the
traditional pub drinker. They usually had restaurants and the standard was
consistent.”
Many of the Schooner inns were refits of older pubs, much of the original
architecture was often stripped out and replaced with modern fittings. They were often designed as themed pubs which
had become prevalent around time. Themes varied widely from Vikings, Parisian,
Naval, Hawaiian, Pirates and even Psychedelia. Following its refit, the pub’s
interior featured in a number of films including ‘A Clockwork Orange’ (1971)
during the scene where Alex and his Droogs have a drink at the fictional Duke
of New York and ‘Assassin’ (1973), where it was used for interiors for the
wedding reception scenes, the nearby Railway Hotel, was used for exteriors, to
represent the wedding venue. During the 1970’s, the upstairs dining area was
converted into a Berni Inn steakhouse, which subsequently turned into a
Beefeater by the 1990’s. In May 1991, disaster struck when a major fire ripped
through the pub, firefighters managed to prevent the building from being burnt
to the ground, though the pub remain closed for several months. By the end of the
decade it was called The Bottle and Dragon, yet dwindling customer numbers and
an attempt at serving Thai food fell on deaf ears, and in October 2002 the pub
closed. Bob Hallett, who worked at the pub in 1971, noted at time, "it's
rather sad. It didn't take off as a pub-cum-Thai restaurant and it was hard to
justify keeping it open for one or two regulars."
Residents were reportedly saddened to see the last pub in Stonegrove close, the
building was subsequently sold to developers Pinecal and it was soon demolished and turned into flats.
The Corner House
Going further up the road towards
Canons Corner, was a pub that was designed for the coming of the motorways. Following
the construction of the A5088 (latterly the A41) in 1922, there were calls for
a new public house to serve the nearby junction between Edgware Way and
Stonegrove. After years fof wrangling, the pub opened it doors in 1937, constructed
by Dawe & Carter, it was designed as a roadhouse style pub that were
commonplace at the time. It had notably had large curved windows, brown-red/ brown
brick-work and Indian red/ brown tiles on the roof. The main entrance was
surrounded by a stonework border. The
building was symmetrical in appearance, with rounded edges on either side of
the building, that harked back to the turrets of medieval architecture, which commonly featured in pubs during the 19th
century. Roadhouse pubs were designed
for comfort in mind, David W. Gutzke noted “Roadhouse promoters wanted to
project an image of luxury as much as comfort in a recreational centre replete
with the most modern technology and expensive conveniences, especially in the
accommodation rooms.”
Indeed it was reported by Hendon & Finchley Times at the time of the pub’s
opening that had a sweeping drive that could accommodate up to 60 cars, and the
interior was last word in comfort, with green leather furnishings in the lounge
and saloon bars, along with a wide open-air terrace for drinking on warmer
days.
Basil Oliver once stated in his book 'The Renaissance of the British Public
House', “the Corner House, is a most ably planned house with large curbed window
ends to the public and saloon bars. These must be very attractive from the
inside. Carried up for bedrooms above with rounded roofs over, they certainly
add to the attractiveness of the cleverly contrived main elevation.”
This pub epitomised the roadhouse pub both in look and concept. Over the years
it became a popular venue with local community, it was also used as a reception venue
for weddings, christenings and funerals. In the 1980’s, the pub’s interior was
extensively renovated and modernised, the following decade the pub came under
the ownership of Allied Domecq, as a result of a merger between Allied Lyons
and Pedro Domecq S.A. in 1994. Two years later, they announced that they would
be selling the site and converting the building into a McDonald's drive-in
restaurant, a similar fate had already befallen the Red Lion in nearby Borehamwood.
The regulars were up in arms about this decision, and initiated a campaign to
save the pub. The owners bluntly stated at the time “we are constantly
reviewing our estate, at the end of the day we are a commercial organisation
and have to ensure our company is profitable.” Despite the locals efforts to
save the pub, the campaign failed to have an effect, and the pub was closed and
sold off to McDonald's early in 1998. The loss
of this pub was due to corporate restructuring rather that diminishing customer
returns, which is a factor that has affected a vast number of pubs around the country. Roger Protz notes that by this time a quarter of all pubs in
the UK were owned by PubCo’s.
This included several in Edgware, and over the next fifteen years all of these
pubs would be closed, sold off or demolished by their respective PubCo owners.
The Sparrow Hawk
Situated on the outskirts of
Edgware, it was opened in 1957 by Whitbread & Co, to serve the relatively
new Broadfields estate, which was initiated in 1923 following the sale of 1,110
acres of land by Sergeant Cox; construction began in 1927 with Broadfields
Avenue, further development came in earnest in 1936, when John Laing’s
commenced construction of their Edgware estate, they built a substantial number
of houses and roads before the Green Belt halted their plans in 1948. The pub’s
name commemorated Ella, Countess of Salisbury, whom during the 12th
century gifted her son Nicholas and new wife the manor of Edgware, in return
for an annual gift of one sparrowhawk. From the outset, modernism was on the
cards, the interior had tiled flooring with a distinct diamond pattern design,
this surrounded a long-curved L-shaped bar counter, pulldown pedant lights
lined the vicinity of the building, and Bauhaus armchairs help gave place a
continental and contemporary feel, this was in stark departure to the many of
the older prewar pubs in the area. The venue quickly became a popular haunt for local
groups who held regular meetings there, organisations such as the Rotary Club, the
Edgware Round Table, The First London Toastmasters Club, the North London Breakers
Club and the Young Conservatives held meetings there, furthermore until 1964,
the local Catholic community held services at the pub, until their new church,
St Matthias Roman Catholic Church, opened in June 1964. By the 1960’s, the pub
started organising regular Jazz gigs, this proved popular with the punters and
they branched out into holding Rockabilly evenings, Blues, Prog Rock and
friends of the earth benefit concerts, the pub gradually became a well-known
venue for live music, at one time it was even dubbed the centre of the Rockabilly scene in North London. The pub also organised events, including the annual Miss
Sparrowhawk beauty competition and Whitbread’s Search for a Star, a talent
contest with heats taking place in several Whitbread pubs across London. The
pub was additionally notable for promoting up and coming talent, The Meteors
played their first gig here on 25th July 1980. In later years, the
pub was subsequently renamed as the Glengall Park and the Sparrow finally. In 2010 it was
announced that the pub will be closed and sold, it was put on sale for £1.3 million
pounds through AC&G, it quickly attracted a range of buyers including
community groups, residential developers and convenience stores. The pub closed
in April 2012, and the site was eventually split three ways, with Baranardo’s
and Tesco occupying the ground floor, and residential flats inhabiting the
upper floors. The original building remains in-tact, yet none of the original
interiors from it’s 55-year existence as a pub remain, following it’s closure.
The Edge of Town
One of two pub’s to open on
Station Road during the 20th century, it opened in 1992 on the site
of a former shop unit. Operating as a free-house from the start, the pub offered
several real ale options. In the December 1992 issue of London Drinker, it was
reported that they were serving Tetley Bitter (3.7%) and Worthington’s Best Bitter
(3.6%) on cask, they also held a monthly beer festival with up to 10 cask beers.
By 1995, the pub was reportedly serving up to as many as 6 cask ales. Latterly, the pub was
taken over by Greene King, it ran weekly karaoke and disco events every
Saturday, along with regular live football during the weekends, it also became
popular with the local Irish community. Ultimately, the pub closed in October
2012, and subsequently returned back to its former usage as a shop, ironically as a Polish
supermarket.
The Railway Hotel
One of the most well known and
much missed of Edgware’s pubs. In 1929, with road widening schemes taking place
around the town centre, A-roads opening up which improving links to towns across
Middlesex, and new roads being built around the emerging residential suburbs.
The opportunity was rife for a new roadhouse style pub to cash in on the boom
in motor transport. In October that year, Truman’s submitted plans for their new
pub in Edgware and these were quickly approved the following month. A hotel had
already resided on Church Lane since 1874, built near Edgware railway station,
the terminus of the branch line between Edgware – Finsbury Park. The brewery brought
out the site and employed their in-house architects A.E. Sewell to construct a
new building in its place, which was completed in 1931, the same year Church Lane was renamed to Station Road. Designed in the Tudorbethan style (or Mock Tudor
for shot) which was inherently popular at the time. An imposing three-storey
structure, the building featured a number of design features that were synonymous
with this style, which included half timbered elevations to the upper floors, a
steeply pitched tiled roof, a set of six tall chimney stacks in the centre with ornate
brick-work with a three lined chimney stack to its adjacent right and two
smaller chimney stacks to the rear, carved wooden under the eaves, an asymmetrical
façade with six casement windows of varying size on the first floor, and further
a three casement windows on the 2nd, with two projecting from the
roof and notably the off-sales building on the right was linked by a tiled
archway with timber uprights, that bared the name of the building, whilst the
interior was similarly ornate with wooden panelling and four centred arched
fireplaces. Basil Oliver wrote in 1934, "it a technically perfect example
of revived quasi-timber-fronted construction, well to the high standard Messrs.
Liberty and Co.'s building of a similar Great Marlborough Street, but far too
mannered for A.D. 1932. when it was completed.”
The pub was a notable example of the improved public house, as Dermot Kennedy
notes an “initiative to build bigger, better and fewer, and although quite a
few were built in city centres most found their way into the new suburbs where
there was space to create dramatic, streamlined public houses for the modern
world.”
This was part of a concerted effort at the time to improve the range of facilities that a pub could
offer to the customer, and in the case of the Railway Hotel, this also included
on the 1st floor, an luncheon room that included a carvery and a masonic
lodge. Through the years, it became a popular venue for parties, wedding
receptions and various clubs including The Lotus Car Club, Hendon Darts League
and the London Toastmasters Club who held their first dinner there in January
1960. It also became utilized as a filming location, appearing extensively in
the film ‘Assassin’ (1973) where it was used for exterior shots in the wedding
reception scenes, it also featured in the background during the sequence where Matthew
(Mike Pratt) and Luke (Frank Duncan) have a meal at the T-Bone restaurant
situated opposite the Railway Hotel. Later, Trumans sold the pub to Grand Metropolitan,
whom later sold it onto Scottish and Newcastle. In the early 1990’s it was run
as a carvery restaurant called County Carvery, which was allegedly indifferent
in quality. Following a failed health and safety inspection, the pub unexpectedly
closed in May 2006, and has remained vacant ever since. The building was Grade II
listed in 2003 which ensured its continued survival, however due to successive owners
the place has been allowed to fall into a derelict condition. In 2013 the
building was added to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register, following
repeated incidents of vandalism and fires. Notably, on the 11th July 2016, a
fire swept through the building, destroying much of the original interior
fittings in the ground floor area. A further fire in 2018 caused more damage. In
January 2019, more than 2000 people signed a petition calling on Barnet Council
and Historic England to preserve the 1930’s mock tudor building; campaigner
Mark Amies stated “the Railway is a part of the Edgware landscape that people
love dearly, but it is being allowed to fall to pieces.”
For several years Amies has continued to campaign for the preservation of the building
and has frequently been vocal about its ongoing issues. In May 2023, Barnet
Council agreed to buy the landmark building and preserve it as part of the town
centre’s redevelopment. A compulsory purchase order was placed, after Historic
England cited fears that the building could potentially suffer from irreparable
damage.
The range of pubs around Edgware
paint an illustrious picture and provides a window into its distant past. From
the days when the area was little more than a village, a cluster of coaching
inns including The George, The White Hart, The Barn and Hay Wain (The Beehive),
The Chandos Arms and The White Lion for instance, opened up in order to cash on
the growing coaching trade, indeed by 1791 three coaches passed daily through
the area, which rose up to nine (on weekdays) by 1839, these inns were
essential in bringing trade into the area. The coming of the railways with the
opening of the station in 1867 failed to have a dent on the area’s pub trade, by
this time many of the former coaching inns had increasingly converted over to
becoming public houses, and new sites appeared on the scene with the likes of The Crystal Palace, The King's Arms, The Red Lion, The Jolly Dealers and The
Surrey Arms for instance. By 1914, the number of public houses had plateaued which
coerced the local authorities into action and close down some of the properties, although
their efforts to revoke the licence of the Boot had been overturned twice, yet by 1929
with road widening schemes taking place their efforts prevailed, pubs including The Chandos Arms and The
George were offered new premises in other areas, whilst The Beehive and the Masons Arms were
rebuilt and re-sited. Around this time roadhouse and improved pubs were coming
on the scene with the increase in motorised transport, and during the 1930’s places like The Railway Hotel and the Corner House emerged, whilst The Green
Man was renovated and extensively rebuilt for the new age of the roadhouse pub. After the war, with new residential
developments (such as the Broadfields estate) developing, there was a need to
build pubs to serve these areas, and the likes of The Sparrow Hawk was
constructed. Redevelopment projects also saw the likes of The Crystal Palace closing in 1939, and the Boot in 1965 respectively. Alas the rot set in following the Beer
Orders Act of 1989 which restricted the Big Six brewers from owning more than
2000 pubs apiece, they circumnavigated this by merging with other companies, often
with non-brewing connections. The majority of pubs across Edgware were owned by
these emerging PubCo’s, and from the mid 1990’s onwards they were gradually
closed down, The White Lion closed in 1997 and subsequently demolished, and the
following year The Corner House was sold off to McDonald’s. In 2002, it’s neighbouring
pub The Leather Bottle was also sold, demolished and turned into flats, meanwhile The
Railway Hotel bit the dust in 2006, whilst the Mason’s Arms continued to linger
on until 2012 when it was sold to a new operator, whilst both the Beehive and the
Change of Hart were converted into restaurants, even newer pubs haven’t fare
much better, with both The Sparrow and The Edge of Town closing in 2012, then
subsequently turned into commercial properties. Edgware is a veritable graveyard
of pubs, there are decaying ruins like The Railway Hotel and The Change of Hart
that appear in a sorry state after years of dereliction, whilst others like The
Masons Arms, The Beehive, The Corner House, The Edge of Town and The Sparrow still exist as structures, but have been converted to other uses. Then there are public houses that have been demolished and buried under new developments like the Premier Inn that looms over the buried
remains of The White Lion, or Boot Parade which once resided The Boot. All of these pubs are part of the area’s extensive heritage,
and each loss knocks another chunk out of of the area's past. Due to the perilous situation,
there have been concerted efforts over recent years to preserve and revive some
of Edgware’s former pubs, hopefully this campaigning will ensue and ultimately
prevail, and once again restore the area’s long forgotten reputation
as a town of many interesting pubs.
‘Fears
for future of fire-damaged former Barnet pub’, by Simon Allin, Barnet Borough
Times, 26th January 2019.
