Bull and Bush
Encyclopedia
The Old Bull and Bush is a Grade II listed public house
near Hampstead Heath
in London
which gave its name to the music hall
song
"Down at the old Bull and Bush
" sung by Florrie Forde
.
The Old Bull and Bush is managed by Mitchells and Butlers under the Premium Country Dining Group brand.
The interior was renovated to a modern, gastropub style with an openly visible kitchen and reopened to the public on 24 March 2006. Until the introduction of the English smoking ban on July 1 2007, The Bull and Bush was one of the few completely smoke-free pubs in London.
drank here, and is believed to have been involved in planting out the pub garden.
The pub gained a music licence in 1867 when Henry Humphries was the landlord, and the pub became popular as a day trip for cockneys, resulting in the Florrie Forde
song "Down at the old Bull and Bush".
The building underwent a major reconstruction in 1924 when owned by the Ind Coope brewery. Another refurbishment took place in 1987.
(also called Bull and Bush) on the Northern Line
of the London Underground. Only the platforms were excavated, and the station construction was cancelled. An entrance leading down 197 steps to platform level is located on the corner of North End and Wildwood Terrace.
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
near Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
which gave its name to the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
"Down at the old Bull and Bush
Under the Anheuser Bush
Under the Anheuser Bush was an early-1900s popular song commissioned by the Anheuser-Busch brewery. Its name is an obvious pun on the company name. In fact, the German word "Busch" is equivalent to the English word "bush"....
" sung by Florrie Forde
Florrie Forde
Florrie Forde , born Flora May Augusta Flannagan, was an Australian popular singer and entertainer. She was one of the greatest stars of the early 20th century music hall....
.
The Old Bull and Bush is managed by Mitchells and Butlers under the Premium Country Dining Group brand.
The interior was renovated to a modern, gastropub style with an openly visible kitchen and reopened to the public on 24 March 2006. Until the introduction of the English smoking ban on July 1 2007, The Bull and Bush was one of the few completely smoke-free pubs in London.
History
The earliest record of a building on the site is of a farmhouse in 1645. The farmhouse gained a licence to sell ale in 1721. William HogarthWilliam Hogarth
William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
drank here, and is believed to have been involved in planting out the pub garden.
The pub gained a music licence in 1867 when Henry Humphries was the landlord, and the pub became popular as a day trip for cockneys, resulting in the Florrie Forde
Florrie Forde
Florrie Forde , born Flora May Augusta Flannagan, was an Australian popular singer and entertainer. She was one of the greatest stars of the early 20th century music hall....
song "Down at the old Bull and Bush".
The building underwent a major reconstruction in 1924 when owned by the Ind Coope brewery. Another refurbishment took place in 1987.
Bull and Bush tube station
Near to the pub was the site of the proposed North End tube stationNorth End tube station
North End is a never-completed underground station, on the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway...
(also called Bull and Bush) on the Northern Line
Northern Line
The Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
of the London Underground. Only the platforms were excavated, and the station construction was cancelled. An entrance leading down 197 steps to platform level is located on the corner of North End and Wildwood Terrace.