Above: Licensees Mary and John Murphy receive their lifetime award from Bob Dear, former police chief licensing officer

Published: 12 April, 2012
by TOM FOOT

AN outpost of traditional pub life in Camden – and the setting for Victor Meldrew’s last supper in the final episode of hit television comedy One Foot in the Grave – is at risk of closure.

It is feared the Golden Lion in Royal College Street – a family-run institution in Camden Town – could shut by the end of the year.

Mary and John Murphy, who won a special lifetime achievement gong at the last Camden-wide licensees awards, could be turfed out of the pub they have run and lived in since 1978.

A petition is attracting signatures and developers have been warned they face a major backlash if the lease is not renewed when it expires in August.

The Irish pub – with its striking blue and gold frontage, stained glass windows and dangling chandeliers – has resisted the drive to serve gastro food and appeal to buzzy young professionals with loud music and large television screens.

Instead, it is a lynchpin of the Camden darts and eight-ball pool leagues. Golden Lion, with its jukebox and open-to-all feel, caters for punters who would not necessarily feel at home in the average bistro-bar.

Ms Murphy, 76, said: “The other pubs round here, they’re not quite right for the people round here. Where will they all go?”

A petition calling for the pub to be saved has been launched and is circulating around other pubs in Camden Town.

Mick Doheny, chairman of Camden Inner London Licensing Association, said: “I’m concerned at the dramatic demise of pubs in Camden. Pubs and the night-time economy are such an important part of Camden – they bring a lot of trade.

“Windsor Castle, Parrs Head, Caernarvon Castle and the Neptune, all these pubs are going and we wouldn’t want to see one go. The Golden Lion has been an integral part of Camden for a number of years. It is a fantastic building with period features – it must have been that way for 100 years.”

Golden Lion featured in the last episode of One Foot in the Grave –  called Things Aren’t Simple Any More – with actor Richard Wilson and comedian Paul Merton appearing in a bittersweet scene.

Meldrew, attending a reunion, is met by a pub barman played by Merton who reads out a string of unlikely excuses about why his old school pals could not make the event. Victor sits alone watching a terrible cabaret act where “sounds of the 60s” stir memories of times gone by.

Moments later he is killed in a hit-and-run accident and the series – after 11 years – comes to a close. A signed photo of the two television stars has pride of place above the bar.

The bar is under threat after a developer snap­ped up the freehold to the building and has chosen not to extend the lease. According to documents at the Land Registry, the registered owner is Norreys Barn Ltd.

The Parrs Head pub in Plender Street, Camden Town, closed last year after a similar takeover. 

The company’s director could not be contacted for comment.