Manor Park pubs
A district of East London situated between Stratford and Ilford centred on Romford Road. The huge City of London cemetery lies to the north. As with most of East London, pubs here are closing at an alarming rate.
Blakesley Arms, 53 Station Road, Manor Park, E12 5BP
A big traditional East London boozer that orbits around a central bar and possesses many of its original Victorian fixtures and fittings including stained glass windows. A photograph of local football hero Bobby Moore with George Best has pride of place behind the bar and the footballing theme continues with the huge collection of mugs from seemingly every club in the football league. The jukebox randomly plays a collection of classics as the small group of locals quietly drink and chat away at the bar. Everybody in the pub seems to know each other yet outsiders seem welcome as well. It has Sky TV, table football and a pool table. Pubs like this one are dying out all over London. Thankfully this one is still here.
Reviewed by Paul Melton, Apr 2007
Telephone: 020 8553 4321
Nearest station: Manor Park, Zone 3,4 (160 metres)
The Golden Fleece, 166 Capel Road, E12 5DB
I had been tramping about the blasted heath that is Wanstead Flats, wondering why there didn't seem to be many people in its interior on such a gorgeous sunny day. Then I discovered the Golden Fleece. Sat on the southern side of the Flats, from the outside this looks a modest and unremarkable establishment. It is slightly tatty on first appearances, a 1930s building from the look of it, with the exterior not much renovated from then. I felt a bit wary - not having drank much in this neck of the woods before - but as I entered (to the purring sound of Final Score on BBC1) the bar beckoned to me with a friendly hand, a Fred-sized hole appeared at one of the tables and I knew I was at home. Some pubs have the lot, and in this case I think much of the credit has to go to the zen-like landlord (who can, incidentally, down a pint in under five seconds. He then turned back to the punter who had tried to cadge it for free and said "You can have it back in half an hour, if you like.") He rules everything here with an easy authority, a naturally affable chap who treats staff and punters alike with considerably good humour, and his attitude extends to pervade the whole atmosphere of the place. Decorated inside in standard Mark II pub fittings (light wood, any colour carpet so long as it's red), it seems to stretch on for miles, with several large seating areas and a beer garden to boot. I chatted to the bar staff, who were charmingly friendly, and one of the locals, as all sorts of people came and went: Sikh families, groups of girls, blokes drinking out on the Flats. All the while the atmosphere remained completely relaxed and friendly as a mellow evening rolled by. It serves excellent food (the pub, that is, not the atmosphere, although that would occasionally be useful) and a good selection of beers, seems to have live music acts on a Saturday evening and shows BBC on the small(ish) screen (I'm not sure if they have Sky). For those wishing to explore Wanstead Flats or Wanstead Park further to the north, this is the ideal stopping point. Even if you don't, it's worth heading out to Manor Park for anyway.
Reviewed by Fred Flange, Aug 2004
Telephone: 020 8478 0024
Nearest station: Manor Park, Zone 3,4 (210 metres)
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