* Camden Town’s – 3 “Castle” Pubs – London NW1

“CAMDEN’s 3 CASTLE PUBS”

Today – Camden Town–London NW1 is a hive of activity – its 24/7 life style makes it the ‘go to’ place for London’s ‘beautiful’ people and tourists – all beards, loafers, and no socks, and definitely the place to ‘be seen’.

However – back in the Victorian era and beyond Camden was certainly not the ‘trendy’ place it is today – it was completely the opposite – a rough/tough and somewhat run-down working-class area.

Back in the late 1700’s Camden began its transformation from a semi-rural area on the northern outskirts of the City of London – into an extremely important transport hub influenced by the rapid progress of the Industrial Revolution.

Canals were dug and railway lines were laid out throughout Camden, and these modes of transport were crucial to the movement of goods/cargo, and even people – into and out of central London and then northwards to the Midlands and beyond

Throughout the early 1800’s and right through the Victorian era, Camden was like one big building site – with a population of transient workers descending on the area to take up the heavy-duty labouring work needed to create Camden’s canal and especially the newly introduced rail networks.

A number of traces of that particular period in time, still exists in Camden today – particularly its 1847 built building. The Chalk Farm Roundhouse, to give it is proper name – is a large circular building that houses a ‘turntable’ that enabled several railway engines to enter – for maintenance purposes, or to just simply be spun round so that they were facing the way they need to be, for a return journey. Many decades later the ‘Roundhouse’ became and still is – one of London’s most iconic music venues – and one which I personally went to as a teenager back in the day and have also frequented in recent years – to attend various gigs.

Anyway – getting back to the ‘Camden’s Castles’ story – these hundreds of manual workers were made up of labourers from all four corners of the UK – there were Scots/Irish/Welsh & English.

These guys worked very hard, it was a tough work – but they also played hard, especially in the evenings when the pubs of Camden would be full -n and many pints would be consumed.

With all the booze that was flowing – it was often the case that general banter would develop into some serious nationalistic/sectarian disagreements/arguments, leading to full-scale fights – so much so that the ‘locals’ were afraid to venture out in the evenings.

Anyway – to keep the warring factions apart, and to bring some peace and decorum to the streets of Camden, especially in the evenings in the pubs – a plan was hatched to introduce 4 new pubs specifically for the benefit of each nationality – i.e. the Scots – the Irish – the Welsh & the English.

These pubs were to be built very close to the railway lines, to prevent the workers having to wander too far into and out of central Camden.

The idea was that having these ‘individual’ national pubs would help to not only reduce the nightly fracas and punch-up’s but would also have the labourers more fit and healthy for their tough work shifts the next day.

As a result, 4 ‘Castle’ pubs were opened in the Camden area – and they were:-

• The Dublin Castle – for the Irish
• The Pembroke Castle – for the Welsh
• The Edinboro Castle – for the Scot’s
• The Windsor Castle – for the English

And here’s a little bit of history about each one: –

The Dublin Castle:

The Dublin Castle pub opened in 1856 and is by far the most well-known of Camden’s ‘Castle’ pubs.

It was the go-to drinking hole for all the Irish navvies working on the construction and maintenance of the extensive canal and particularly rail network within Camden.

Today – it is a far cry from what it once was – as the Dublin Castle has been a well-know music venue for a few decades now – especially in showcasing ‘new’ talent.

Perhaps its biggest ‘musical’ claim to fame is its connections to the legendary London based band “MADNESS” – who were first formed as the ‘North London Invaders’ in the Camden Town area – way back in 1976.

By 1979 Madness had begun to attract interest and build up a considerable following, as a result of their regular gigs at the Dublin Castle pub.

The pub continues to promote ‘live’ music events on a regular basis – encouraging up and coming acts – and its licence allows it to stay open longer than the other pubs in Camden.

Its not only Madness that played the Dublin Castle – Brit pop bands such as Oasis and Blur, and a little bit later, the Arctic Monkey’s – have all performed at the pub at the early stages of their careers.

Also, the once local resident, the late ‘Amy Winehouse’ would often be seen at the ‘Castle’.

Understandably, the Dublin Castle prominently makes reference to its music connections throughout the pub building – with posters / plaques / signed photos and other memorabilia – and then there’s the music hall itself, which is situated at the back of the pub and accessible from the main bar.

The pub and its decor are well kitted out and it no wonder it’s a go-to tourist attraction for anyone visiting Camden.

It’s a great pub with a good vibe.

The Edinboro Castle:

Camden’s ‘Edinboro Castle’ pub was opened in 1843 – as was the pub that the Scottish navvies converged upon to undertake their socialising activities.

This magnificent building was once a library – a picture gallery – and it once housed artifacts and mementos belonging to Admiral Horatio Nelson.

It has a massive and well laid out beer garden, which was probably once used to keep the riff-raff away from the punters inside the pub.

Today the Edinboro Castle is a very popular gastro type pub – very spacious, with some

of its original fixtures & fittings and with excellent décor – plus pictures/paintings and stuff that reference its Scottish’ness and its historic past. You definitely get the vibe of what the place must have been like back in Victorian times.

 

A lot of attention has obviously been given to the Edinboro Castle’s beer garden – and it must get rammed in the summer evenings. Apparently, today – the pub employs over 40 staff – which just goes to show how popular and busy the place is.

The Edinboro Castle has a massive bar and when I was there the staff were very welcoming and friendly, and we chatted at lot about the pub’s interesting history.

A quality old boozer – and well worth a visit.

The Pembroke Castle:

The final one of Camden’s remaining 3 ‘Castle’ pubs is the “Pembroke Castle”.

This pub is situated up the road from central Camden – close to the posh Primrose Hill district, and near the uniquely designed Chalk Farm tube station, with its magnificent original ox-blood tiles.

The Pembroke Castle opened in the 1860’s and was the place where the Welsh construction workers descended upon to undertake their drinking activities – away from all the Scots/Irish & English labourers.

It sits within a very posh area, as can be seen by the buildings surrounding it – you’ve clearly got to have a few bob to live round there.

Again – it’s a lovely old building – with a large beer garden. It’s excellent décor, memorabilia, fixtures & fittings – quite rightly all reference its past life and Welsh connections.

The Windsor Castle (later named the Warwick Castle): This pub was also built in the mid 1800’s and was situated in the same road as the Dublin Castle – and it was the English labourers drinking hole.Sadly, it closed as a pub quite a few years ago – and today, the building currently houses a Vegan restaurant.

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So – that’s the story behind the origins of Camden’s 3 remaining ‘Castle’ pubs – whether its true or just an urban myth, I don’t know – but it does make sense – and it’s a good story.

On what was a scorching hot day under beautiful blue cloudless London skies – it was a fun adventure, wandering around Camden in search of these 3 Castle pubs – and then to ‘sample’ numerous ‘cheeky’ pints of cold Guinness at them.

A very enjoyable day out – would highly recommend it.

Hope you enjoyed the story and its accompanying photos.

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See below the full and extensive gallery of photos taken to support this “Camden’s 3 x Castle Pubs”