Fig (1) Molly's Cafe, looking like an artist's impression. Friday 14th May 2021
I have written quite a bit on here about the Marquis of
Lansdowne. This was the pub that was the
childhood home of myself and my siblings.
One of my (many) outstanding research tasks is to complete a short
article about the history of the pub – but that is for another day. The battle to save the pub for demolition has
also been well documented by others.
On Friday 14th May 2021 I had cause to be in
London, a rare thing as we move out of lockdown. I had seen on the internet that the refreshment
room for the Museum of the Home (formerly the Geffrye Museum) was to open for
external customers (eating establishments will be able to re-open properly on Monday 17th
May). I tweaked my arrangements and
found myself standing outside the new entrance in Geffrye Street at opening
time (10-00). I was the first customer,
which pleased me in a childish way, and was given a warm welcome by Rob and his
team who operate the place. If anything
can truly represent the gentrification of Shoreditch it is the transformation
of the Marquis of Lansdowne from derelict east London pub to modern café and
apartments. It is also a far cry from
the wooden structure stuck on the side of the museum which functioned as a tea
room for many years.
To be frank, there isn’t a lot left of the pub. The whole of the interior has been ripped out
and only the original façade is
intact. The dodgy rear extension (with
the perennial crack) has gone and the back yard is now occupied by a terrace
and ‘canteen’ area. A small block of
flats is attached to the top and side of the building. The flats are not especially attractive
(although they look good in comparison to the 1960s efforts nearby) but I
suspect that that their inclusion is what made the project financially
viable. A quick look at RIGHTMOVE shows
that it is an eight flat development and that a 2 bed flat is selling for
£850,000. How anyone can afford such
prices is beyond my puny economic imagination.
Fig (2) View from Cremer Street showing the flats
The café is known at Molly’s and is named after a pioneering
curator of the museum who worked to encourage education programmes in the 1940s
and beyond. All the hours spent tramping around the museum in the company of
other inmates of Randal Cremer School, worksheet in hand, are the result of her
efforts to show that museums can engage the interest of young people.
The refurbishment is of a very high standard. The external terrace was a pleasant place to
sit (my table was roughly in the area formerly occupied by the old outside
Gents toilet – I think I detected a whiff, but this was the product of olfactory
memory rather than archaeological persistence).
Inside is an open kitchen and tables and the former bar area is a very
characterful dining room. It has been
designed and furnished to echo the origins of the building as an early
Victorian pub.
The plan is for Molly’s to open in stages. Soon it will offer high quality evening meals
as well as daytime food. A far cry from
the very limited catering on offer in the pub during the Trendall era! When the museum re-opens next month I expect
that the café will become very busy during the day. It shares the entrance to the Museum opposite
Hoxton Station. In the hour I was there
is attracted a lot of interest.
Fig (3) The terrace occupying the area of the former pub's back yard and showing the entrance gate in Geffrye Street
The people working there were most welcoming. The tea was good and I had a first class
bacon roll. All good signs for the future! I am looking forward to going back soon.
Philip Trendall
May 2021
(1)
Rightmove (as at 16/05/2021): https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/106863968#/
(2)
Molly’s: https://www.museumofthehome.org.uk/visit-us/molly-s-cafe/
.JPG)
