The sun shone down on Hackney Wick, I turned a corner and there was the Lord Napier pub.
Or rather it wasn’t.
My heart sank. In its place this graffiti-covered box. Shit house to Penthouse daubed along the front, MEANWHILE IN EAST LONDON, LUNATICS DECORATE A BUILDING, along the side.
The old pub, that became the Lord Napier in 1874, closed at the end of the last century and has been tattoed repeatedly by generations of graffiti-artists until it now looks as if the buidling itself is held together by the layers of paint that cover it. Over time, the graffiti spread to the two houses to the left on Hepscott Road, as well as along the White Post Lane side of the pub.
I know we London hipsters are meant to embrace “street art” but I think this look a mess.
And though I always wince when I see a closed pub, to see this one brought so low is a double blow. How much fun, conversation, mischief and argument has been had in that place, but now it is only home to rats and empty bottles.
There appears to be some good news in prospect. ZCD architects have planning permission to restore it to a working pub, retaining and restoring the current structure. It was granted in December 2017 but nothing has happened yet. Fingers crossed
MEANWHILE IN EAST LONDON, LUNATICS DECORATE A BUILDING