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London’s old pubs have seen their share of hard times, but some disasters hit harder than others. In this special 10th episode, our Guide, Eric Blair swaps the cozy pint for a flaming torch, a soggy barstool, and a falling bombshell.

Buckle up, Pubcast detectives, as we dig into three of London’s booziest disasters:

• The Great Fire of 1666 nearly wiped the slate clean of London pubs. As pubs turned to ash, Samuel Pepys hit the alehouse to watch the city burn. Eric shares the pubs that survived.
• The London Beer Flood of 1814: A porter tsunami that took out homes, lives, and possibly a pub tab or two.
• Zeppelin Raid of 1915: When The Dolphin Tavern became one of history’s first bombed bars.

Expect smoky tales and foamy floods. Plus, we raise a glass to the pubs that defied the odds, some by a mere 50 feet of luck.

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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 used in researching this episode:

• https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1666/
• 1666 Plague, War and Hellfire by Rebecca Rideal (ISBN 178-1-250-09706-4)
• The Great Fire: In Real Time – 2017, TV Mini series
• https://landships.activeboard.com/t14106803/the-dolphin-tavern-and-wwi-german-air-raids-on-london/

Intro music:

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

Website: https://historiclondonpubcast.com/

E-mail: [email protected]