Iconic West Bromwich Albion themed Haggerston pub The Albion closes
No more: The Albion pub with its trademark black-and-white Baggies livery. Photograph: Google Street View
The Albion on Goldsmiths Row has closed, after twenty years as a neighbourhood pub and an outpost for West Brom fans in London.
The closure has been on the cards since January, when popular previous landlord and owner Dave Chapman got the news that it had been acquired by Remarkable Pubs, whose current roster of venues include The Approach Tavern in Bethnal Green and Shoreditch’s Barley Mow and The Reliance.
Remarkable are partnering with The Fish House on The Albion’s replacement, which will be called The Virgin Queen and will serve “craft beers, wine & top notch fish & chips.”
4 June was the last day of trading for The Albion, and in the following days as news filtered out, locals, including Telegraph travel editor Hugh Morris, took to Twitter to register their sadness and appreciation:
Shit. Just learned the Albion on Goldsmiths Row has closed to be turned into a fish restaurant. London’s best football pub. Sad times.
— Hugh Morris (@horatiomo) June 7, 2017
Despite its partisan nature in favour of the team they call The Baggies, The Albion was festooned with memorabilia from pretty much every club in the land – some of which was pilfered by drinkers looking for a keepsake:
So it was the Albion’s last day (before it gets turned into a gentrified gastro pub). I liberated the following from the walls. pic.twitter.com/QcjjgiOM8V
— Scaffold Mandinga (@caminhoCDC) June 4, 2017
The Virgin Queen is set to open later this year.
FFS, does east London really need another posh pub for trendy white beardies?
Sad loss a great traditional pub and known by thousands of football fans through out England
It was a shithole
Great pub and as a hammers fan it will be sadly missed! Another working class pub turned into a wine and eating hole. Gutted!
Just what we need – more over priced craft beer and less football.
Everything is literally turning into the same crappy naked lightbulb lit venue with hard seating and bored barstaff.
What’s wrong with a pint of Guinness and the football on TV in something that actually resembles a pub?
The craft beer scene is fake worldwide…rubbish beers at outrageous prices…bring back the Albion.
Sadly since Dave left it has been downhill all the way.
I hate football but loved this pub when I lived on hackney road, always a warm welcome in there.
But to be fair, at least they’ll be selling Craft Berr which is way superior to Real Ale……
It was my local – 15 seconds from my flat until I moved last year – and I loved it. very sad, as others have said, there are already more than enough trendy bars in this area.