The Star was a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

at 38 St John's Wood Terrace in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

, in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

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 ...

. After operating for nearly 200 years it closed in 2015. Following the building being listed by

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...

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, parish councils, ...

(ACV), it reopened in 2017 as a

gastropub A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves food of high quality, with a nearly equal emphasis on eating and drinking. The term was coined in the 1990s in the United Kingdom. History The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coi ...

called Drunch Regent's Park.

History

The pub opened in the 1820s. In July 2013, its then-owner

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 consti ...

sold it to a property developer for £2.1 million. When its

landlady A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

retired two years later after 20 years in business, the pub closed, and a branch of an

estate agent An estate agent is a person or business in the United Kingdom that arranges the selling, renting, or managing of real estate, properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a Letting agent, letting or manag ...

s chain opened on the site. The property developer,

Marcus Cooper Marcus Cooper may refer to: * Marcus Cooper (property developer) (born 1966), British property developer * Pleasure P (Marcus Ramone Cooper Sr., born 1984), American R&B singer **'' The Introduction of Marcus Cooper'', Pleasure P's 2009 debut album ...

, through his company West End Investments, had sought permission to convert it into a "single family dwelling", but this was refused by Westminster City Council after they received a petition signed by 800 people and supported by

Paul Heaton Paul David Heaton (born 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and main lyricist of the Housemartins, who had commercial success in the UK and other European countries between 1985 and 1988, releasing several singl ...

of pop group

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 ...

, who had filmed the video for their song ''

Happy Hour Happy hour is a marketing term for a time when a venue such as a restaurant or bar offers reduced prices on alcoholic drinks. Discounted menu items like appetizers are often served during happy hour. This is a way for bars and restaurants to ...

'' in The Star in 1986. Following a subsequent public campaign, Westminster City Council granted the premises ACV status to prevent it from being sold without a community consultation. At that time such status did not impose a requirement of

planning permission Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...

for a change of use of the premises, allowing the estate agents office to be opened in March 2015. Pubs with ACV status gained planning protection in law the following month. In 2017 the building was reopened as a gastropub by the chain Drunch. In addition to The Housemartins' video, the Star also appeared in the music video for

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. They comprise lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson ...

' 2007 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 Sin ...

''.

References

External links

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