The Newman Arms is a

public house 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 ...

and restaurant at 23

Rathbone Street Rathbone Street is a street in London that runs between Charlotte Street in the north and the junction of Rathbone Place and Percy Street in the south. The street is partly in the London Borough of Camden (northern side) and partly in the City o ...

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia () is a district of central London, England, near the West End. The eastern part of area is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urban ...

, London, W1. The pub dates back to 1730, and was once a brothel. The Newman Arms appears in George Orwell's novel ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...

'' where it was the model for the "Proles" pub. It featured again in his ''

Keep the Aspidistra Flying ''Keep the Aspidistra Flying'', first published in 1936, is a socially critical novel by George Orwell. It is set in 1930s London. The main theme is Gordon Comstock's romantic ambition to defy worship of the money-god and Social status, statu ...

'', and in

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a serie ...

's film ''

Peeping Tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly reme ...

''. In 2012, the pub held a mediation meeting with

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

to address customer congestion on the pavement outside. The landlady's joke suggestion to serve drinks more slowly was taken at face value by the council, who agreed that serving staff should ensure that each transaction was complete before starting a new one, as part of an agreement to the pub retaining its licence. In 2017 the pub closed, and it was reopened by

Truman's Brewery Truman's Brewery was a large East London brewery and one of the largest brewers in the world at the end of the 19th century. Founded around 1666, the Black Eagle Brewery was established on a plot of land next to what is now Brick Lane in London, E1. ...

in 2018, the first pub that Truman's had opened since being re-founded in 2010. The menu reflects the food offering of previous landlord, Tracey Bird, with a focus on pies. The building has an unofficial

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

in honour of the former landlord: "Joe Jenkins, ex-proprietor, poet, bon viveur and Old Git, regularly swore at everybody on these premises". A prostitute in historical costume is painted onto a bricked-over upstairs window in reference to the building's history as a brothel.

References

Pubs in the City of Westminster Fitzrovia {{pub-stub