The Bricklayer's Arms, Waterman St, built in 1826 is the oldest

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

, London. It has twice been

CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is the ...

National Pub of the Year The National Pub of the Year is an annual competition held by CAMRA, the winner of which is announced in the February of the year following that in which the competition is run, that finds the best pub in the UK. Established in 1988, the compet ...

for the Greater London Region, in 2007 and 2009, and "South West London Pub of the Year" in 2006, 2008 and 2010. It was built in 1826, on the site of an old coaching house and blacksmith's forge, and was then known as the Waterman's Arms, as it was very close to the river Thames, and the men who worked on the boats formed the majority of its customers. At the end of the 19th century, it changed its name to the Bricklayer's Arms, as there was a huge amount of construction taking place in the surrounding area, due to the extension of the

District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited servic ...

railway. The landlady Becky Newman is a former actress, having appeared in ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' and ''

The House of Eliott ''The House of Eliott'' is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 1991 and 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet as Beatrice Eliott and Louise Lombard as Evangeline Eliott, two sisters in 1920s Lond ...

''. She took over the pub in 2005. Before Newman took over, it had been an Inntrepreneur tenancy, and in 2000 was restyled as the ''Putney Brick'', but soon closed, as the then owners intended to sell the site for redevelopment. In 2002, the pub was bought at auction by Newman's brother-in-law, John and sister Helen. They reopened it for six months without great success and it became their family home. Following Helen's unexpected death in January 2005, money was needed to support his young family, so John and Newman reopened the pub on 27 March 2005, the day of

The Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...

, to immediate success. In 2012,

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

rated the Bricklayer's Arms, a "compact Victorian gem", the third best pub in England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bricklayer's Arms, Putney Putney Pubs in the London Borough of Wandsworth