The Spotted Dog is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

at 212 Upton Lane,

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district of West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. ...

, London. It dates back to the late 15th or early 16th century, and was thought to once have been a hunting lodge for

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

History

Leopold Wagner's 1921 book ''A New Book About London'' writes of a "huge barn-like structure in the vegetable garden ... (of the pub) ... wantonly sacrificed by the new proprietors in the interest of a bottling store ... (which had) ... anciently enclosed the kennels for a pack of royal hounds". He asserts that when Henry VIII followed the chase in the Essex (Epping) Forest, he "took up the hounds here at Upton" about a mile from the toll-gate which subsequently led to the residential district being named Forest Gate. Some credence can be attached to this tale because having dissolved

Stratford Langthorne Abbey Stratford Langthorne Abbey, or the Abbey of St Mary's, Stratford Langthorne was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1135 at Stratford Langthorne — then Essex but now Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. The Abbey, also known as West Ha ...

in 1538 and seized all of its enormous land holdings in the borough Henry Vlll used his own money to purchase the nearby Hamfrith Wood from its owner, Sir Anthony Hungerford – presumably to facilitate his love of hunting. Mr Wagner provides some intriguing details in support of his account stating that what became the Spotted Dog was at the time the residence of Henry's Master of the Hounds, who was granted the privilege of taking personal profit for refreshing travellers passing that way. The author asserts that on this account that, until the Great War, the Spotted Dog "stood alone among the inns of the country at large in having its licence direct from the Crown," adding that:

Development

The pub has been closed since June 2004, and is in a state of serious disrepair. In 2009, the

London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the Fire department, fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 90), under the leadership of superintendent ...

posted a notice stating that it was a dangerous structure. In 2014, a campaign group called ''Save the Spotted Dog'' campaigned for the pub to be either reinstated as a family pub, or for it to be used for as some other sort of community facility; the group received support from local MPs and

Newham Council Newham London Borough Council also known as Newham Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority co ...

. In 2020, the council approved plans to renovate the pub and build a 68-room hotel next door.

References

External links

Save the Spotted Dog campaign
{{Pubs in London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Newham Grade II listed pubs in London Pubs in the London Borough of Newham Forest Gate Former pubs in London

History

Development

See also

References

External links