Speaker

(formerly Elephant & Castle)

46 Great Peter Street
Westminster
London
SW1P 2HA

• (020) 7222 1749
• pleisurepubs.co.uk/the-speaker

Social Links

• Visit Speaker on Facebook
• Follow @SpeakerPub on Twitter

Opening Times

12-11 Mon-Fri; Closed Sat & Sun

Meal Times

12-10 Mon-Fri; Closed Sat & Sun

Owner

Bermondsey Pub Co (Ei Group)

About the Pub

CLOSED for refurb, expected to reopen late November 2018 with change of management.

Planning app 18/06630/FULL refers.

The interior refurb will include at least "Installing fixed seating on the ground floor, reorganising the toilet accommodation on the first floor and creating a meeting room which may be used as a consumption area". Various sympathetic external alterations have also been approved.

Previous description follows.

Part of a small (mainly south-coast) pub chain, this is a friendly one-bar corner pub. It's a peaceful haven for locals, civil servants and MPs to enjoy conversation, unusual guest beers and home-made food without the intrusion of music, TV, games machines or children under 14.

Clay pipes and caricatures of MPs adorn the pine 'v'-jointed panelled walls. The modern bar counter and back bar are of oak and the large leaded windows admit plenty of light.

Whilst the two guest ales on offer from the five handpumps are usually a porter or stout and a 4.7%+ pale ale, milds appear twice a year, usually in May and December. The food offering consists solely of freshly-prepared hot bagels.

If you have the time and the inclination, pause outside to admire the two different swing-signs, indicating the the names of the streets they are each in, and the plaques giving the history of the Speaker of the House of Commons.

The pub, normally closed at weekends, opens specially on Remembrance Sunday.

One of the photos shows long-serving landlord Dennis Reed receiving a CAMRA Certificate of Appreciation at his retirement in July 2017.

Historic Interest

Dating from 1729 or earlier, the pub was first named the Castle, renamed Elephant and Castle around 1800 and became the Speaker in 1999. The area around the pub was, until clearance started in 1850, the erstwhile Devil’s Acre, London's very worst slum, according to Charles Dickens, albeit next to the world’s first public gas works. Noted by Westminster Council as an Unlisted Building of Merit.

Regular Beers

This pub serves 3 regular beers.

• Adnams Pleisure Principle
• Dark Star Hophead
• Timothy Taylor Landlord

Changing Beers

This pub serves 2 changing beers.

Usually a porter or stout and a premium pale ale.

Updated on 07/10/2018
Last surveyed on 09/01/2018
Branch responsible is West London

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