The Gun is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

at 27 Coldharbour, Coldharbour,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It takes its name from the cannon which was fired when the

West India Docks The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides, and warehouses built to import goods from, and export goods and occasionally passengers to, the British West Indies. Located on the Isle of Dogs in London, the first dock opened in 18 ...

first opened in 1802.

History

The pub has occupied the plot of 27 Coldharbour since the early 18th century under various trading names. It was first called ''The King and Queen'' in 1722 before being renamed to ''The Rose and Crown'' in 1725 and later ''Ramsgate Pink'' in 1745. It took on its current name, ''The Gun'', in 1771. Lord Horatio Nelson is commonly associated with The Gun having lived locally and where it is said that he visited the docks to inspect the guns. In addition, he would frequent the pub to secretly meet Lady Emma Hamilton in an upstairs room (now called The River Room) for their affair. There is also a long association with smugglers landing contraband on the site and distributing it via a hidden tunnel. To this day there is still a spy-hole in the secret circular staircase to watch out for “The Revenue Men”.

Modern Usage

The Gun is now a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

which was restored after a fire in 2001 which kept the pub closed for 3 years. Previously The Gun was owned by the ETM group who sold the pub to

Fuller, Smith & Turner Fuller, Smith & Turner is a public limited company based in London, England, whose origins lie in Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick, West London. In 2019, it sold its brewing division, leaving it as a pub operator. The company's registered office is ...

in July 2016. The pub is now operated as a gastro-pub including an outdoor Gin Garden which has previously been sponsored by

Sipsmith Sipsmith is a microdistillery located in London. It is the first copper-pot distillery to open within Greater London' in nearly two centuries. It has been owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan, since ...

, a covered riverside terrace and rooms that have been converted for private hire. The Gun is now largely focused on food serving modern British cuisine but also serving Fuller's beers and high quality wines. As the pub is located in the Docklands area of London the pub caters to the many workers of

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...

but also the residents of the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England. It includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Haml ...

Notable patrons

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

Alan Brazil Alan Bernard Brazil (born 15 June 1959) is a Scottish broadcaster and former footballer who played as a forward. He most notably played for Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, and represented Scotland in international footb ...

Ray Parlour Raymond Parlour (born 7 March 1973) is an English former professional footballer and sports radio pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live and Talksport. He was a midfielder from 1992 to 2007, and spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hull ...

File:Cabin Room with hanging tankards.jpg, alt=Cabin Room with Hanging Tankards, Cabin Room with Hanging Tankards File:Upstairs River Room.jpg, alt=The upstairs River Room, The upstairs River Room File:Open fire in The Red Room.jpg, alt=Open fire in the Red Room, Open fire in the Red Room File:Gun Room at The Gun.jpg, alt=Gun Room, Gun Room File:Location of The Gun at the West India Docks.jpg, alt=Location of The Gun at the West India Docks, Location of The Gun at the West India Docks File:Gin Garden at The Gun.jpg, alt=Gin Garden at The Gun, Gin Garden at The Gun File:Riverside Terrace at The Gun.jpg, alt=Riverside Terrace at The Gun, Riverside Terrace at The Gun File:Gin Garden at The Gun with summer marquee.jpg, alt=Gin Garden at The Gun with summer marquee, Gin Garden at The Gun with summer marquee File:Plaque, The Gun, Coldharbour.jpg, alt=Plaque outside The Gun, Plaque outside The Gun

References

External links

* Grade II listed pubs in London Pubs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets 18th-century architecture in the United Kingdom {{pub-stub