Old Mermaid, 364 Mare Street, Hackney
Hackney pub history Index
There was a Mermaid Tavern present in Hackney by 1636. Listed in Church Street in 1856 and 1866, on the east side. The pub is now long-closed and the premises in retail use. The original Mermaid Inn stood on the opposite side of Mare Street. It closed and was demolished in around 1845, with the replacement and much smaller pub built opposite.**
Historical London public houses, Taverns, Inns, Beer Houses and Hotels.
(Old) Mermaid Inn, 364 Mare Street, Hackney, E9 - in November 2008
Kindly provided by Stephen Harris
Residents at this address.
1752/James Vaughan/../../../Hackney Petty Sessions Book **
1766/Anthony Brunn / Victualler /../../Lease documents held at Hackney Archives **
1777/Anthony Brunn / Victualler /../../Lease documents held at Hackney Archives **
1790/Thomas Batty/victualler, Old Mermaid/../../Sun Fire Office records held at the London Metropolitan Archives *
1793/William Burden, Eliza Brun & Maria Brun / Victuallers /../../London Gazette, 16 February 1793 **
1794/William Burden / Victualler /../../Property documents held at Hackney Archives **
1794/William Burdon / Vintner /../../Sun Fire Office records held at Guildhall Library **
1795/William Pussord / Tap Keeper /../../Proceedings of the Old Bailey **
1796/William Purcell / Keeper /../../Proceedings of the Old Bailey **
1803/Andrew Seymour / Tap Keeper /../../Sun Fire Office records held at Guildhall Library **
1805/M Gardner, the Old Mermaid, Hackney/../../Holdens Directory
1805/Isaac Bristow, the Mermaid Tavern, Hackney/../../Holdens Directory
1805/Seymour Andrew, Mermaid tap, Hackney/../../Holdens Directory
1808/Mary Bristow / Tavern Keeper /../../Sun Fire Office records held at Guildhall Library **
1813/William Seymour / Tavern Keeper /../../Sun Fire Office records held at Guildhall Library **
1823-24/S Brown, Old Mermaid, Church street/../../Pigot's Directory
1826/Samuel Brown/../../../Pigot's Directory
1823-24/Joseph Sparrow, Mermaid, Church Street/../../Pigot's Directory
1827/Robert Fiddes/Mermaid Tap/../../Licensed Victuallers Association
1833-34/Robert Fiddes, Mermaid Tavern and Family Hotel, Church street, Hackney/../../Pigot's Directory
1836/Robert Fiddes / Formerly Licensed Victualler & Coach Proprietor /../../London Gazette, 31 May 1836 **
1836/Samuel Bird, Mermaid, Church street/../../Pigot's Directory
1836/Samuel Wildsmith, Old Mermaid, Church street/../../Pigot's Directory
1842/J Wildsmith/../../../Robson’s Directory **
1851/William Hawkes/../../../Kelly’s Directory **
1852/William Hawkes/../../../Watkins Directory **
1856/William Hawkes/../../../Post Office Directory
October 1856/William Hawkes/ Outgoing Licensee /../../The Era
October 1856/Alfred Jackson/ Incoming Licensee /../../The Era
1857/William Hawkes / Formerly Licensed Victualler and now Out-of-Business /../../London Gazette, 27 January 1857 **
Morning Advertiser 18 January 1859 - Licence transfers :
Old Mermaid, Church street, Richard Fox to John Rawlinson
November 1861/Mary Ann Rowberson/Outgoing Licensee/../../East London Observer
November 1861/James William Till/Incoming Licensee/../../East London Observer
November 1863/James William Till/Outgoing Licensee/../../Era
November 1863/William Milgrove/Incoming Licensee/../../Era
1866/William Milgrove/../../../Middlesex Post Office Directory
November 1867/William Milgrove/Outgoing Licensee/../../Era
November 1867/William James Holt/Incoming Licensee/../../Era
July 1870/William James Holt/Outgoing Licensee/../../East London Observer
July 1870/Henry Bull/Incoming Licensee/../../East London Observer
1872/James Vaughan/../../../Hackney Petty Sessions Book **
1874/W Abraham/../../../Brabners Hackney Directory
January 1872/William Abrahams/Outgoing Licensee/../../Era
January 1872/Francis Trundle/Incoming Licensee/../../Era
1874/F Trundle/../../../H.D. Miles London & Suburban Licensed Victuallers'
Directory **
October 1873/Francis Trundle/Outgoing Licensee/../../East London Observer
October 1873/William Charles Walker and Chas Heurland Walker/Incoming Licensee/../../East London Observer
23rd May 1874/William Charles Walker & Charles Heurlan Walker/Outgoing Licensee/../../East London Observer +
23rd May 1874/A Bryant/Incoming Licensee/../../East London Observer +
1874/Abraham Bryant/../../../Post Office Directory *
January 1875/Abraham Bryant/Outgoing Licensee/../../East London Observer
January 1875/William Reid Bulman/Incoming Licensee/../../East London Observer
October 1875/William Reid Bulman/Outgoing Licensee/../../East London Observer
October 1875/Francis White/Incoming Licensee/../../East London Observer
July 1877/Walter Vyse/Outgoing Licensee/../../East London Observer
July 1877/Esther Vyse/Incoming Licensee/../../East London Observer
August 1877/Esther Vyse/Outgoing Licensee/../../East London Observer
William H Brinkworth was my great, great grandfather. He was born in Willow
Street, Shoreditch 1839, son of a musician and later self styled ‘professor
of music’, WHB Emigrated to New Orleans, Mississippi in1849 with his dad
(mum died young). He returned to Hackney in his 20s during American Civil
War and soon became Leader of the Orchestra at the famous Britannia Theatre,
Hoxton - then in its heyday. The Britannia launched many big music hall acts
who went onstage between the popular melodramas - themselves antecedents of
modern day soaps (Charles Dickens was a regular at the Britannia). As comic
“Any Old Iron” singer Harry Champion later put it :
I was a potman at the pub
Earned twelve bob a week ‘n all me grub
I worked hard
Down at the old Britannia
Now I get eighty quid a week for doin’ this
Well, you can’t help laughing can you?
After the Civil War, WHB returned to America where he met some success as a
Musical Director on Broadway, staging a series of shows through the
late1860s-70s. During this period he commuted between his jobs in Hackney
and New York by steamboat three times a year with new wife. My great
grandmother, Lilly May Brinkworth was born in New York on one of these
theatre trips. She grew up to marry Hackney bookmaker and sometime
investment banker, the eponymous Bernard Sanders.
None of them died very rich in the end but they seem to have lived quite
well. WHB wrote one song ‘The Young Man on the Railway’ listed in the
Library of Congress as one of the great American folk songs (he actually
wrote it for a British singer Harry Clifton, ‘Elton John’ of the Victorian
drawing room). ***
I’m not sure what connection WHB had with the Old Mermaid, maybe it was his
local. For a time he lived nearby at Clifden Road and Median Road. In the
1878 directory he would have been the licensee about this time.
Brinkworth Way, Homerton is named after WHB and local punk band ‘Brinkworth’
recently named themselves after the street: small world. ***
August 1877/William Henry Brinkworth/Incoming Licensee/../../East London Observer
1878/William H Brinkworth/../../../Middlesex Post Office Directory
September 1878/William Henry Brinkworth/Outgoing Licensee/../../East London Observer
September 1878/Leonard Joseph Arlington/Incoming Licensee/../../East London Observer
1881/Leonard Abington/Licensed Victualler/46/Kingston, Northumberland/Census
1881/Selina Abington/Wife/30/Clerkenwell/Census
1881/Eliza Bull/Visitor/24/Kingston, Northumberland/Census
1881/Emma Morgan/General Servant/23/Islington/Census
1891/Leonard Abington/Licensed Victualler, widow/50/Dringstead/Census
1891/Mary Bull/House Keeper/30/Dringstead/Census
1891/Joseph Loasby/Barman/63/Kettering/Census
1896/Joseph Patrick/../../../Post Office Directory
1896/James Bond/../../../Post Office Directory
1900/James Bond/../../../Post Office Directory **
1901/James Bond/Publican/66/March, Cambs/Census
1901/Annie M Bond/Wife/65/Bures, Suffolk/Census
1901/Eleanor S Logan/Daughter, Widow/41/Islington, London/Census
1901/Minnie Wright/Barmaid/24/Kensal Green, Middlesex/Census
1901/Emma Frost/Barmaid/26/Canning Town, London/Census
1904/James Bond/../../../P. O. Directory **
1910/James William Turpin/../../../London Trade Directory
1911/James William Turpin/Licensed Victualler/29/Plaistow, Essex/Census
1911/Jessie Turpin/Wife/29/Torrington, Devon/Census
1911/James William Turpin/../4/Hackney, Middlesex/Census
1911/Ernest Percy Turpin/../2/Hackney, Middlesex/Census
1911/Sidney John Turpin/../9 months/Hackney, Middlesex/Census
1911/Hannah Newman/General Servant/23/Camberwell, London/Census
1911/Robert Hogg/Barmaid/21/Woolwich, Kent/Census
1915/James William Turpin/../../../Post Office Directory
1921/Edward Henry Elliston/../../../Post Office Directory
1924/Edward Henry Elliston/../../../P.O. Directory **
1934/Jas Harris/../../../Post Office Directory
1938/Walter E Gillard/../../../Post Office
1944/Walter E Gillard/../../../Post Office
+ Provided by Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park
* Provided By Ewan
** Provided By Stephen Harris
*** Provided By Bernard Saunders