The Ten Bells - Commercial Street, London, UK
N 51° 31.159 W 000° 04.461
30U E 702971 N 5711635
The Ten Bells public house dtands on the east side of Commercial Street on the north side of the junction with Fournier Street. Hawksmoor's Christ Church stands on the opposite corner.
Waymark Code: WMJGPY
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/17/2013
Views: 6
The pub and the sign both looked faded and tired though
reports seem to indicate that, internally, it is different. The sign hangs from
a bracket fixed to the pub's wall. Perhaps it has been allowed to fade to
add to the "character" of the place. It is a wooden board that, at one time was
painted black. Some of the black paint has now peeled away and the bottom edge
of the sign is missing that reveals a ragged edge. The pub's name runs along the
bottom edge of the sign in faded gold letters with a faded white dropped shadow.
The image is from a cut-out made of plywood that is affixed to the back board.
Any signs of paint are just about gone with no indication of the colour(s) used
remaining. There is an outline of a bell in the centre of the image with
"10" in the centre of it. Some foliage seems to encircle the bell.
Wikipedia
tells of the pub's history and its name:
The Ten Bells is a public house at
the corner of Commercial Street and Fournier Street in Spitalfields in the
East End of London. It is sometimes cited as being notable for its
association with two victims of Jack the Ripper; Annie Chapman and Mary
Kelly, but is best known now as a uniquely decorated, lively and trendy East
London pub.
The Ten Bells pub has existed in one guise or other since at least the
middle of the 18th century.
It originally stood on a site known as 12 Red Lion Street, just a few metres
away. However, when this building was pulled down as part of the cutting of
Commercial Street in 1851, the owners of the Ten Bells (Truman Hanbury
Buxton & Co) were able to move the public house to its current position at
84 Commercial Street (at one time known as 33 Church Street).
The name of the pub has changed over time, but those names have generally
derived from the number of bells in the "peal" housed in the Nicholas
Hawksmoor designed Christ Church, Spitalfields next door.
In 1755 it was known as the "Eight Bells Alehouse". The name is likely to
have changed in 1788 when the church installed a new set of chimes, this
time with ten bells; certainly, there are insurance records to show that the
pub was registered as "the Ten Bells, Church Street, Spitalfields" from
1794. The number of bells in the church increased to twelve at one point and
were subsequently reduced to its current number of eight after a fire in the
steeple in 1836. However, save for a brief deviation from the theme, the
"Ten Bells" name has stuck.
The interior of the pub is particularly interesting as it is impressively
decorated with original Victorian tiling. Two of the walls feature a blue
and white floral pattern tiling scheme and there is a colourful tiled dado
going round the room. Of particular note is the mural of painted tiles on
the wall on the North side of the building, entitled Spitalfields in ye
Olden Time - visiting a Weaver's Shop, which commemorates the weaving
heritage of the area. The mural was designed by the firm of W. B. Simpson
and Sons and dates from the late 19th century.
The Ten Bells was renovated by current landlord John Twomey in December 2010
to fully display the pub's Victorian heritage. The renovation also included
the addition of a new mural titled Smithfields in Modern Times. This was
painted by artist Ian Harper. Rather than feature the weavers of the 19th
century, the painting features 21st century Spitalfields scenes and
characters, such as Gilbert and George.
The building was designated a Grade II listed building in 1973.
Some accounts of the Jack the Ripper story link two of his victims, Annie
Chapman and Mary Jane Kelly, to the pub: Annie Chapman may have drunk at the
pub shortly before she was murdered; and it has been suggested that the
pavement outside of the pub was where Mary Kelly picked up clients as a
prostitute. Between 1976 and 1988, the public house was named "The Jack the
Ripper", and memorabilia relating to the case were displayed in the bars.
The brewery ordered the change back to its original name after a long
campaign by Reclaim the Night demanded that a murderer of women should not
be commemorated in such a fashion. The pub is mentioned in the graphic novel
From Hell (1999), about Jack the Ripper, by writer Alan Moore and artist
Eddie Campbell. The film adaptation From Hell (2001), also features the pub,
including a scene showing Johnny Depp (as Inspector Abberline) having a
drink with Ripper victim Mary Kelly.
The Ten Bells is regularly busy, often noisy and always characterful. Some
"City Suits" find their way through Old Spitalfields Market for a pint. But
it's largely full of Brick Lane and Shoreditch regulars, looking for a
strong drink and a good atmosphere.
In October 2011, the Ten Bells was featured in the Jamie Oliver series
Jamie's Great Britain. Jamie's great great grandfather was a landlord of the
Ten Bells during the 1880s. Jamie is shown visiting the Ten Bells to discuss
his East London roots, and to see how Londoners lived, drank and ate at the
end of the 19th century.
From November 2011 to February 2012, the upper floors of the pub were used
as a temporary restaurant space for the "Young Turks", a collective of
young, ambitious chefs cooking modern British food. The "pop-up" restaurant
has been acclaimed by a number of well respected food critics, including Fay
Maschler.
As mentioned, the pub is a listed building with the entry
at the
English Heritage website telling us:
Founded 1666 but present building
mid C19. Stucco facade. Eaves cornice with balustraded parapet above. Roof
not visible. 4 storeys with angled corner. Facade to Fournier Street of 2
windows, alternate round headed and triangular pediments to 1st and 2nd
floor windows, bands between. Pilasters to sides and angles of building.
Ground floor has polished granite pilasters with stuccoed capitals and end
stops. Corner door behind fluted pillars with composite capitals. Similar
facade to Commercial Street has 3 windows. Inside Commercial Street entrance
is a fine coloured C19 tiled plaque showing an C18/C19 street scene.
Name of Artist: Unknown
Date of current sign: Unknown
Date of first pub on site: Unknown
|
Visit Instructions: To log a visit, a photograph of yourself or your GPSr by the pub sign is required. Some description of your visit would be welcome.
|