Tom Cribb - Panton Street, London, UK
N 51° 30.574 W 000° 07.903
30U E 699035 N 5710394
This pub, "Tom Cribb", is on the north west side of Panton Street at the junction with Oxendon Street. Tom Cribb was a bare-knuckle boxing champion in the early 19th century. It gets a mention in Thackeray's "Vanity Fair".
Waymark Code: WMHZCN
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/31/2013
Views: 2
The picture on the pub sign shows a bare-knuckle boxer with fists raised in
pugilistic fashion.
Signs on the pub tell us:
Tom Cribb was the British bare-knuckle boxing champion
between 1809 and 1822 and had his first fight in 1805 after returning from
the navy.
Cribb became a coal porter at Wapping and was known by the nickname "The
Black Diamond".
It was using this ring name that Cribb won his first fight after 76 rounds.
The pub, which appears to date from the early 1900's, was widely known as "Cribb's
Parlour" and featured in MW Thackeray's Vanity Fair and was also referred to
by Arthur Conan Doyle in Rodney Stone as "Tom Cribb's Salon". Its name was
officially changed in 1960 in his honour.
This extract, from
chapter 34 of "Vanity Fair", includes the mention of the pub:
He had spent the early part of the next morning in
writing home to his mother a most flourishing account of his reception by
Miss Crawley. But ah! he little knew what evils the day was bringing for
him, and how short his reign of favour was destined to be. A circumstance
which Jim had forgotten--a trivial but fatal circumstance --had taken place
at the Cribb's Arms on the night before he had come to his
aunt's house. It was no other than this--Jim, who was always of a generous
disposition, and when in his cups especially hospitable, had in the course
of the night treated the Tutbury champion and the Rottingdean man, and their
friends, twice or thrice to the refreshment of gin-and-water--so that no
less than eighteen glasses of that fluid at eightpence per glass were
charged in Mr. James Crawley's bill. It was not the amount of eightpences,
but the quantity of gin which told fatally against poor James's character,
when his aunt's butler, Mr. Bowls, went down at his mistress's request to
pay the young gentleman's bill. The landlord, fearing lest the account
should be refused altogether, swore solemnly that the young gent had
consumed personally every farthing's worth of the liquor: and Bowls paid the
bill finally, and showed it on his return home to Mrs. Firkin, who was
shocked at the frightful prodigality of gin; and took the bill to Miss
Briggs as accountant-general; who thought it her duty to mention the
circumstance to her principal, Miss Crawley.
Had he drunk a dozen bottles of claret, the old spinster could have pardoned
him. Mr. Fox and Mr. Sheridan drank claret. Gentlemen drank claret. But
eighteen glasses of gin consumed among boxers in an ignoble pot-house--it
was an odious crime and not to be pardoned readily. Everything went against
the lad: he came home perfumed from the stables, whither he had been to pay
his dog Towzer a visit--and whence he was going to take his friend out for
an airing, when he met Miss Crawley and her wheezy Blenheim spaniel, which
Towzer would have eaten up had not the Blenheim fled squealing to the
protection of Miss Briggs, while the atrocious master of the bull-dog stood
laughing at the horrible persecution.
This day too the unlucky boy's modesty had likewise forsaken him. He was
lively and facetious at dinner. During the repast he levelled one or two
jokes against Pitt Crawley: he drank as much wine as upon the previous day;
and going quite unsuspiciously to the drawing-room, began to entertain the
ladies there with some choice Oxford stories. He described the different
pugilistic qualities of Molyneux and Dutch Sam, offered playfully to give
Lady Jane the odds upon the Tutbury Pet against the Rottingdean man, or take
them, as her Ladyship chose: and crowned the pleasantry by proposing to back
himself against his cousin Pitt Crawley, either with or without the gloves.
"And that's a fair offer, my buck," he said, with a loud laugh, slapping
Pitt on the shoulder, "and my father told me to make it too, and he'll go
halves in the bet, ha, ha!" So saying, the engaging youth nodded knowingly
at poor Miss Briggs, and pointed his thumb over his shoulder at Pitt Crawley
in a jocular and exulting manner.
Short Description: A pub mentioned in the book.
Book Title: Vanity Fair
First Year Published: 1847
Author's Name: William Thackeray
Name of Waymarked Item: Tom Cribb
Location of Item: Central London
Admission Price?: 0.00 (listed in local currency)
Link to more information about the book or waymarked item.: [Web Link]
More Information: Not listed
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