This Malden Road pub is close to my heart: I lived nearby for well over a decade and, during that time, from the noughties to the teens, witnessed a trio of incarnations. And now its current chapter is coming to an end.
Known for over a hundred years as its original moniker, the Gipsy Queen, a boozer has occupied the site since the 1850s – although the current building in fact only dates back to 1930s.
Look at this amazing pic: back in the early 1950s, a group of Gipsy Queen regulars here pose tidily for the camera, about to embark on a bean-feast down in Margate or Brighton. Note the accordion, barrels, suits, smiles and shiny minibus.
And, lest we forget, this was before the 1960s rebuild of Gospel Oak, so Lismore Circus and its surrounds would have still been peeling Victorian terraces. It formed part of the short Gipsy Terrace, whose two remaining original houses still stand. This particular image was found in the Camden archives in Holborn by a zealous CAMRA member.
Irish family the Brownes took it on 1991, renaming it The Westport Inn after their hometown in County Mayo. Around that time there were reportedly bare knuckle fights in the cellar and “the owner was so scared he allowed his Alsatian to roam the building.”
Browne senior, however, managed to turn it into a traditional neighbourhood favourite for 22 years, until it closed for refurbishment late 2013. It was briefly reborn under his son Thomas as The Bluebell, before sadly closing in 2014.
It then entered its current era: Joel and Suzy Czopor, the visionary team from the smash hit pub The Grafton, rescued it and restored its original name.
Their simple – though time-consuming – task was to strip the pub back to basics: exposed brickwork, original fireplaces, reclaimed Victorian wooden floors, and a tiled “bar apron”. An open kitchen occupied the back of the pub, while the very lovely, leafy courtyard, was cleared out and revived, with space for a whopping 90 people.
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A couple of years later, they in turn sold it to a small indie pub group with boozers in places like Ally Pally and Muswell Hill.
Last autumn, the Gipsy had a spruce-up with quirky new sign-writing by artists and refreshed interior.
“The next evolution of the Gipsy Queen is a new partnership between Christian Arden (PooNaNa and Chicago Rib Shack) and me,” said head honcho Stevie Thomas. The pair’s ambition was a “neighbourhood pub and cocktail bar with a secret garden and quarterly street food residencies, bringing together olde world elements of forgotten gipsy stories and tarot card games, all within warmly lit art-ridden rooms.”
I visited a couple of times during this last iteration – and it was busy enough. But fast forward to yesterday and they posted the following statement: “It is with a heavy heart that we must tell you, our fellow friends and cherished regulars, that the 21st of May will be our last day trading at the Gipsy Queen. We are sad to leave the pub we have called our home for the last nine years. We have countless stories and made treasured memories with you all.”
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They invite you to wish them “a final farewell and raise a glass to the glorious Gipsy Queen.” Meanwhile their current pizza pop-up, Alby’s, will move to the Roundhouse when they shut.
But for now, it’s adieu: the rumour is, a new operator has already stepped in – but let’s see who that is. And, if you live round those parts, at least the rebooted Lord Southampton is thriving.
