Anchor & Hope, Clapton

Local listing;- Facing onto the River Lea the Anchor and Hope probably dates from the mid-19th century when the area was frequented by watermen, bargemen, dyers and chandlers. Since then this small public house (with only one bar) has created a larger-than-life reputation. In the early 1820s High Hill ferry could only be reached by Mount Pleasant Lane. Forty-four householders were recorded living here in 1821 with several of them being described as ‘dyers’. In 1851 a beer and chandler’s shop was recorded on the site. By the 1860s houses had spread higher up the slope (Harrington Hill) and the old village c.1890 survived in a 'veritable Alsatia' – a place without law - where the workers 'depended largely on summer pleasure-seekers' who came to delight at the unusual pastoral scene. Leslie Heath (1925-2003) was the Anchor's publican from 1953 to 2003. In 1973 he took over the licence from his father-in-law, William Wilders. In 1997 he was given an MBE for his services to the community. In the 1970s it was a favourite pub of CAMRA as it was one of the few pubs in London that sold real ale from a hand pump. It also became notorious for its ‘colourful' clientele who were described by one local as 'people who lived on the eccentric side of life’. During the 1980s and 90s the pub was frequented by Ken Campbell (actor, comedian, writer and director). The pub features in his play ‘Recollections of a Furtive Nudist’ (1991) - a perambulating tale up and down the River Lea. During the 19th and 20th centuries the pub was probably owned by Tollemache brewery (later merged with Tolly Cobbold). During this period it was known by locals as the Tolly House or the Little House. In the early 1970s Fuller’s brewery took over the pub. They continue to own it today and describe it as one of Fuller’s smallest pubs. The pub is two-storeys and constructed of brick. The lower-storey has brown glazed bricks to window cill level with brown stock bricks above. The upper storey is pebble dashed and painted. Large 17 and 20 light casement windows with thin metal frames and mullions on the ground and first floors. Above the ground floor windows there is a continuous frieze. The pub has two entrances: one on River Lea elevation and the other on a chamfered corner (with pediment above. The doors are timber panelled and glazed. ‘The Anchor & Hope’ sign is located above the main entrance on the chamfered wall. Roof hidden behind parapet.