The Grapes
Encyclopedia
The Grapes is a public house
backing onto the Thames waterfront, located at 76 Narrow Street
, London E14 8BP (51°30′31.61"N 0°2′2.67"W). It is owned in partnership by Evgeny Lebedev
, Sean Mathias
and Ian McKellen
, and managed by Paul Mathias.
. In the 1930s it sold beer from the adjacent brewery owned by Taylor and Walker. It survived the bombing of the nearby Limehouse Basin in World War II
and Docklands redevelopment in the 1980s.
.
In 1661, Samuel Pepys
’ diary records his trip to lime kilns at the jetty just along from The Grapes.
In 1820 the young Charles Dickens
visited his godfather in Limehouse and knew the district well for 40 years. The Grapes appears, scarcely disguised, in the opening chapter of his novel Our Mutual Friend
:
"A tavern of dropsical appearance… long settled down into a state of hale infirmity. It had outlasted many a sprucer public house, indeed the whole house impended over the water but seemed to have got into the condition of a faint-hearted diver, who has paused so long on the brink that he will never go in at all.”
The Grapes has a complete set of Dickens in the back parlour.
Other popular writers have been fascinated by Limehouse: Oscar Wilde
in The Picture of Dorian Gray
; Arthur Conan Doyle
, who sent Sherlock Holmes
in search of opium provided by the local Chinese immigrants; more recently Peter Ackroyd
in Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem.
Narrow Street
is also associated with many distinguished painters. Francis Bacon
lived and worked at no 80, Edward Wolfe
at no 96. James McNeill Whistler
painted a Nocturne of Limehouse. On The Grapes’ walls are an oil painting seen from the Thames by the marine artist Napier Hemy, watercolours of Limehouse Reach by Louise Hardy and Dickens at The Grapes by the New Zealand artist Nick Cuthell.
The Grapes survived the Blitz
bombing of the Second World War and retains the friendly atmosphere of a “local” for Limehouse residents, where visitors are always welcome in the bars and upstairs dining room.
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...
backing onto the Thames waterfront, located at 76 Narrow Street
Narrow Street
Narrow Street is a narrow street running parallel to the River Thames through the Limehouse area of east London.- History :A combination of tides and currents made this point on the Thames a natural landfall for ships, the first wharf being completed in 1348...
, London E14 8BP (51°30′31.61"N 0°2′2.67"W). It is owned in partnership by Evgeny Lebedev
Evgeny Lebedev
Evgeny Alexandrovich Lebedev is the chairman of both Evening Standard Ltd, which owns the Evening Standard and also Independent Print Ltd which owns the Independent newspapers, which he bought in January 2009 and March 2010...
, Sean Mathias
Sean Mathias
Sean Gerard Mathias is a British theatre director, film director, writer and actor.Mathias was born in Swansea, south Wales. He is known for directing the film, Bent, and for directing highly acclaimed theatre productions in London, New York, Cape Town, Los Angeles and Sydney...
and Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
, and managed by Paul Mathias.
History
The current building was built in 1720, on the site of a previous pub built in 1583, a working class tavern, serving the dockers of the Limehouse BasinLimehouse Basin
The Limehouse Basin in Limehouse, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets provides a navigable link between the Regent's Canal and the River Thames, through the Limehouse Basin Lock. A basin in the north of Mile End, near Victoria Park connects with the Hertford Union Canal leading to the River Lee...
. In the 1930s it sold beer from the adjacent brewery owned by Taylor and Walker. It survived the bombing of the nearby Limehouse Basin in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and Docklands redevelopment in the 1980s.
Local Area
Limehouse was first settled as one of the few healthy areas of dry land among the riverside marshes. By Queen Elizabeth I’s time, it was at the center of world trade and her explorer Sir Humphrey Gilbert lived there. From directly below The Grapes, Sir Walter Raleigh set sail on his third voyage to the New WorldNew World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
.
In 1661, Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
’ diary records his trip to lime kilns at the jetty just along from The Grapes.
In 1820 the young Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
visited his godfather in Limehouse and knew the district well for 40 years. The Grapes appears, scarcely disguised, in the opening chapter of his novel Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" but is also about human...
:
"A tavern of dropsical appearance… long settled down into a state of hale infirmity. It had outlasted many a sprucer public house, indeed the whole house impended over the water but seemed to have got into the condition of a faint-hearted diver, who has paused so long on the brink that he will never go in at all.”
The Grapes has a complete set of Dickens in the back parlour.
Other popular writers have been fascinated by Limehouse: Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
in The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine...
; Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, who sent Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
in search of opium provided by the local Chinese immigrants; more recently Peter Ackroyd
Peter Ackroyd
Peter Ackroyd CBE is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a particular interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, Charles Dickens, T. S. Eliot and Sir Thomas More he won the Somerset Maugham Award...
in Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem.
Narrow Street
Narrow Street
Narrow Street is a narrow street running parallel to the River Thames through the Limehouse area of east London.- History :A combination of tides and currents made this point on the Thames a natural landfall for ships, the first wharf being completed in 1348...
is also associated with many distinguished painters. Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
lived and worked at no 80, Edward Wolfe
Edward Wolfe
For Edward Wolfe the Battle of Britain Pilot see Edward Wolfe General Edward Wolfe was a British army officer who saw action in the War of the Spanish Succession, 1715 Jacobite Rebellion and the War of Jenkins Ear...
at no 96. James McNeill Whistler
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
painted a Nocturne of Limehouse. On The Grapes’ walls are an oil painting seen from the Thames by the marine artist Napier Hemy, watercolours of Limehouse Reach by Louise Hardy and Dickens at The Grapes by the New Zealand artist Nick Cuthell.
The Grapes survived the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
bombing of the Second World War and retains the friendly atmosphere of a “local” for Limehouse residents, where visitors are always welcome in the bars and upstairs dining room.