The Old Ship

Open since 1851 and situated in a Grade II listed end-of-terrace building, The Old Ship has become a core part of East London's Queer nightlife.

We attended one of their regular Friday night cabarets, with a drag act by Lola Lasagne. We were greeted by the lovely bar staff and managed to have a great chat with John Fell, the landlord.

He told us the pub was passed on to him by the previous owner after working there for 10 years, and he's run it ever since (almost 30 years!). But this tenure hasn't been without its threats.

Back in 2013, after a thorough refurbishment of the premises, Mr. Fell discovered plans by Tower Hamlets council to dispose of their interest. He then launched a petition, which gathered thousands of signatures within weeks, and brought in support from celebrities such as Sir Ian McKellen and Michael Cashman.

The pub has since been recognised as an Asset of Community Value, and praised by media outlets such as Time Out, who have named it one of the top 50 pubs in the UK.

We thoroughly enjoyed our evening, noting the mix of ages, genders and sexualities all having a good old-fashioned time.

We want to extend our gratitude to the all staff, Ms. Lasagne, and John, as well as to all the punters for allowing us to take photographs (and have a lovely time!)

We'll be back!