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Step into the shadows of London’s dockside past and pull up a stool—this time we’re casing The Mayflower Pub in Rotherhithe. It’s not just any riverside watering hole. This joint’s got stories soaked into the floorboards, and Eric Blair is here to guide us through them all. 

We follow the trail of Captain Christopher Jones, the original landlord-meets-seafarer who helmed the Mayflower’s Atlantic crossing and maybe poured some of listeners’ ancestors a pint before they sailed westward ho. From Elizabethan shipyards to gentrified riverside flats, from wine-hauling voyages to a unique postal stamp license, this pub’s history is as layered as one of those fine pies they serve on the back deck.

We’re talking transatlantic trade, rebellious pilgrims, cozy fireplaces, and Thames bank mud that reveals treasures from bygone eras. Stick around for secret wharfs, postal oddities, and a tale of a tunnel that was once the toast of the town.

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Google map with pubs covered in previous episodes pinned, courtesy of Andy Meddick:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/4/edit?mid=12c-WKa3XiT1qTLydK8psZocUR7Y_Wes&usp=sharing

Or TinyURL: https://tinyurl.com/bduca5dv

The following resources are referenced or quoted frequently in these episodes:

• Ted Bruning  -- Historic Pubs of London (ISBN 978-0658005022) and London By Pub (ISBN 978-0658005022)
• Wikipedia
• https://londonspubswherehistoryreallyhappened.wordpress.com/  by Ann Laffeaty

Additionally, the  following resource(s) were quoted in this episode:

• https://thamesfestivaltrust.org/heritage-programme/foragers-of-the-foreshore/the-history-of-mudlarking/
• https://www.mayflowerpub.co.uk/history      
• https://www.blackdogpubcompany.co.uk/

Intro music:

Vivaldi - Spring Allegro by John Harrison with the Wichita State University Chamber

Photo: Alison Day

Website: https://historiclondonpubcast.com/

E-mail: [email protected]