The Star was a pub at 38 St John's Wood Terrace in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

, in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, for approximately 200 years before closing in 2015. The

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 ...

listed it as an

asset of community value In England, an asset of community value (ACV) is land or property of importance to a local community which is subject to additional protection from development under the Localism Act 2011. Voluntary and community organisations can nominate an ass ...

. In 2017 it reopened as a

gastropub A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves gourmet comfort food. The term was coined in the 1990s, though similar brewpubs existed during the 1980s. Etymology The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coined in 1991, when David E ...

History

The building was used as a pub since the 1820s. In 1971,

Egon Ronay Egon Miklos Ronay (24 July 1915 – 12 June 2010) was a Hungarian-born food critic who wrote and published a famous series of guides to British and Irish restaurants and hotels in the 1950s and 1960s. These guidebooks are credited with raisin ...

in one of his guidebooks, commented on its barbecues on Friday and Saturday nights during the cricket season, and the Star's popularity with both players and fans, as well as its "formidable collection of drinking vessels on show". Notable customers have included

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...

and

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...

. The video for

The Housemartins The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christiani ...

' 1986 pop song hit '' Happy Hour'' was filmed there, and the Star appeared in the music video for

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, back ...

' single

Teddy Picker "Teddy Picker" is a song by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, released as the third single from their second album ''Favourite Worst Nightmare''. It was released on 3 December 2007 in the United Kingdom. The song entered the UK Sing ...

Redevelopment

The Star had been owned by the pub company

Punch Taverns Punch Pubs & Co is a pub and bar operator in the United Kingdom, with around 1,300 leased pubs. It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a constitu ...

, until it was sold to the London-based property developer West End Investments for £2.1 million in July 2013. Its closure left only three pubs remaining in the St John's Wood High Street area. The Star was a pub for 200 years before closing in March 2015, and becoming a branch of the

estate agent An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged i ...

chain, Champions, in April 2015. The property developer

Marcus Cooper Marcus Cooper Sr. (born February 1, 1990) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football for Rutgers University. Cooper has also ...

, through his company West End Investments, had sought permission to convert it into a "single family dwelling". Westminster Council had listed the premises as an

(ACV) to prevent conversion into flats, however this ACV designation did not stop the premises being used as a bogus estate agents office. Tom Stainer, head of communications for the

Campaign for Real Ale 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 th ...

(CAMRA) commented: "This is just the latest in a long line of pubs converted due to a loophole in planning law." The council received a petition from 800 people, with support from

Paul Heaton Paul David Heaton (born 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter. He was the frontman of the Housemartins, who had success with the singles " Happy Hour" and the UK number one "Caravan of Love" in 1986 before disbanding in 1988. He then forme ...

of pop group

who filmed the video for '' Happy Hour'' in The Star in 1986. The pub reopened as a Drunch gastropub in May 2017. This was seen as a significant win for the community to retain the premises as a community asset. This opening followed a similar case in St John's Wood with The Clifton pub and The Star reopening within two weeks of each other. The Clifton retains its original name. The Clifton was closed for over two years, as was The Star, and was also a victim of property speculators until ACVs were imposed.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Star, St John's Wood, The Pubs in the City of Westminster St John's Wood Former pubs in London