The Cock Tavern, Somers Town, NW1

Located in Somers Town, Camden’s least affluent ward, as the Cock, this place has been in existence since at least 1805 when it was 15 metres to the south-east, the current incarnation dating from the 1930s, tacked onto some local authority housing; this was also the last pub in the Borough of Camden that I had yet to visit and until recently, had a CAMRA listed interior, alas no more. To a review, I found the place to be exactly as described below: horse racing on the TVs, games machine, rear ‘games room’ with lyrics from The Celtic Song applied in large letters to a wall, Sligo and Munster flags and sports’ trophies in a very blokey pub catering for elderly Anglo-Irish customers at the time of my Friday 2.20pm visit – with the distant voice of a young child somewhere out of sight, perhaps chained to a radiator – modern floor and traditional furniture (see photo) with Gaelic folk on the stereo. Some years back I met someone who drinks here and when I asked him if it was a bit rough, he replied: “Yeah. Probably why I like it”. There’s no cask of course and not even any K64 or Stella, just a fizzmatic lineup of Carling, Coors, Guinness, John Smith’s Extra Smooth Crap and Foster’s, £2.50 the half, served by a very friendly young barmaid. Barmaid’s wasted talents aside, there’s nothing going for this place and unsurprisingly, with the area’s ongoing gentrification, may not be long for this world as it’s up for sale; a Save the Cock campaign has been mobilised.

Poor exterior mirrored inside.Locals bar but nowt wrong with my guinness.How long can it hold out to the developers or the corona virus shutdowns.