Bellevue Road

The Hope Tavern has stood at the corner of Bellevue Road and the Common since the mid-1860s. It was built in anticipation of a new railway station nearby - which opened in 1869. The entablature long proclaimed its allegiance to Meux & Co's Genuine Porter & Noted Stout – a brewery with a local connection: Meux's Horse Shoe Brewery moved from Tottenham Court Road to the former Thorne's Brewery at Nine Elms, Battersea, in 1921. Te owner of Thorne's Brewery, John Mills Thorne, was living only a few hundred yards away at Burntwood Lodge, at the top of Burntwood Lane.

In [????], the pub was briefly renamed "The Faith and Firkin" (see below) but is now known again simply as The Hope. It continues trading as one of the two pubs on the road. The Surrey Tavern at the top end of Bellevue closed abruptly in [20??] but The Althorpe pub opened in [20??].

[PB: The Jennifer Penny panel below is a photocopy of an original. It would be good to scan a better copy. The pubwiki image is included as a placeholder – a higher-resolution version is being sought.]

Several postcards and photographs survive from roughly the same period – the 1900s to 1920s – showing the Hope and the road in front of it from slightly different angles and in different conditions. Taken together, they reward close study: the signage, the street furniture, the dress of passers-by, and the vehicles all repay attention.

[PB: I am very grateful to Wendy Leahy for colourising the original black-and-white postcard – the colours are unlikely to be accurate, of course.]

Notice on the right the iron fencing that appears on the edges of many – perhaps all – parts of the Common at this time. Presumably these were intended to keep sheep in, and vehicles out. Also the substantial gas-lamp.

[PB: Any idea what was being sold from the small hand-cart that appears in a number of views of the Hope? I can't make out the words. Clearly the cart was in a perfect position for people walking across the Common to and from the Station. I've seen photographs of small carts selling milk, toffee, and ice cream at this time – perhaps this was one? But if so, which? Notice too that a similar cart appears in the no. 49 buses photograph much later – street vending in this spot seems to have been a persistent tradition.]

The motor bus places this image in the transition period between horse-drawn and fully mechanised transport on the road. The exact date, bus route, and vehicle type have not yet been established – any bus history enthusiasts who can help are warmly invited to get in touch.

[PB: This is possibly a Dorrrett & Martin photograph – their studio was at 16 Bellevue Road. The bus type and livery should allow a more precise date to be established. Compare with the horse-drawn omnibus (destination TOOTING) visible in the 1908 postcard above.]

[PB: The two snow images appear to show the same scene in different conditions and at different resolutions. The high-resolution version (top) is a significant improvement. Are these the same event, or different winters? The postcard is dated 1908 but may have been printed later.]

The scene seems very "respectable." People are smartly – and in some cases rather stylishly – dressed (e.g. the man with the straw boater and briefcase, left). Are the two women with the pram, left, nannies in uniform?

Notice a number of people waiting to mount the open-topped (horse-drawn?) omnibus in the centre. A strip up the side of the external staircase announces the destination as "TOOTING." Signs on the omnibus include NESTLÉ's MILK (chocolate?) and JEYES (disinfectant, patented 1877) – both brands are still in existence today, which is unusual.

There are a number of "safety bicycles."

[PB: This image is scanned from a photocopy. It would be good to find a better version. Query – are the wheels on the omnibus pneumatic? Possibly not – they seem like narrow hard cartwheels, which were very laborious and inefficient for horses. Pneumatic tyres increased comfort for passengers and brought down fares. See: Pneumatic tyres on buses, 1928.]

In the entablature at the top

THE HOPE TAVERN
MEUX & Co's Genuine PORTER & Noted STOUT

The painted sign on the wall – Miller & Sons, butchers

The bold painted lettering above Miller & Sons Butchers (no. 2) reads:

MILLER & SONS
BUTCHERS
WHOLESALE & RETAIL
CONTRACTORS
[to?] GOVERNMENT
[TELEGRAMS] "OXGOADE, LONDON"
TELEPHONE 31, BALHAM

Notice the no. 49 buses. It was still the 49 here, and the 19 along Trinity Road, at least until the 1980s when new bus numbers were introduced – the 349 replaced the no. 49, and 249 the no. 19.

Notice also the street vendor's cart, in the same position even though decades have elapsed since the Edwardian photographs above. Street vending in this spot seems to have been a long and persistent tradition.

[PB: When did the bus renumbering happen exactly? I still can't get used to the new numbers.]

[PB: Date and source of this map to be added.]

What a very 1990s story this is. From 1997 to 2002, The Hope was briefly renamed the Faith and Firkin, before reverting to its historic name.

The Firkin chain was a hugely fashionable pub brand of the late 1980s and 1990s, known for its in-house microbreweries and a formula of punning names: the Ferret and Firkin, the Falcon and Firkin, the Fox and Firkin, and so on across London. Every pub received a new alliterative name incorporating "Firkin" – an old word for a small barrel. The Hope became the Faith and Firkin, keeping the vaguely spiritual theme going.

The chain was sold to Punch Taverns in 1999 and the new owners had little interest in the brand, so most Firkin pubs were gradually renamed. The Hope reverted to its original name around 2002. It is a small but telling detail about how pub chains swept through even well-established local institutions in that era, and how quickly the Firkin identity was dropped once the fashion passed. The Faith and Firkin lasted just five years; the Hope Tavern had already stood for roughly 150.

[PB: Source: WhatPub (CAMBRA). Can we find any photographs of the Hope branded as the Faith and Firkin?]

The Firkin chain – south London and nearby

The sheer scale of the Firkin operation across London is remarkable. Graham Waite compiled a comprehensive list on Good Beer Good Pubs. South London and nearby entries include:

Show the full local Firkin list

Name	Area	Address
Faith & Firkin	Wandsworth Common	1 Bellevue Road, SW17
Fairway & Firkin	Blackheath	16 Blackheath Village, SE3
Falcon & Firkin	South Hackney	360 Victoria Park Road, E9
Fanfare & Firkin	Soho	38 Great Marlborough Street, W1
Fantail & Firkin	Muswell Hill	87 Muswell Hill Broadway, N10
Faraday & Firkin	Clapham Junction	66A–66C Battersea Rise, SW11
Farrier & Firkin	Marylebone	76 York Street, W1
Fatling & Firkin	Hornchurch	109 High Street, RM11
Faunal & Firkin	Soho	18 Bear Street, WC2
Felix & Firkin	Barnet	31 High Street, EN5

[PB: Note the Footle & Firkin on Wandsworth High Street – so there were two Firkin pubs within a mile of each other. Also the Freedom & Firkin in Tooting and the Furze & Firkin in Streatham. This part of south London was well served.]

We would love to hear further recollections – as a regular, a visitor, a neighbour, or someone who worked there. Any period welcome, from the early twentieth century to the present day. Photographs especially welcome.

Please send us a message and we will include your memories on this page.