Turner's Old Star, 14 Watts Street

You only have to walk for five minutes away from the luxury apartments fronting the Thames and you enter an entirely different Wapping. This parallel universe is a small oasis containing ordinary shops and a couple of pubs that serve the local community. This establishment is one of them. It is a friendly, family-run pub that dates back well into the nineteenth century. The pub’s name is connected to the famous artist who used to frequent the area to draw inspiration for his work. In those days it looked very different to how is does today: the streets surrounding the docks were dirty and full of vice and whole families had to live in single rooms in dilapidated lodging houses. Turner used to call himself Admiral “Puggy” Booth and apparently he lead a bit of a double life. He took a mistress who was the landlady of a pub and when she died the pub was apparently left to him. In recognition of this story, the pub’s name was changed several years ago. In spite of the redevelopment of the docks the pub is still the focal point for a small group of loyal punters and there is enough there to keep them happy. The pub has a screen for the all important football, boasts a pool table and it hosts weekly quiz nights on Thursdays. The only ale is London Pride, but that is not so unusual for East London. Overall we found this to be a highly enjoyable pub.

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