Lord Morpeth, E3

Corner pub in a residential area and on the approach to a housing estate that has a much more upmarket clientele inside. There is a central bar, with seating all around and a kitchen with a pizza oven at the rear. Indeed, a fair few of those customers seated appeared to be consuming pizzas. Those standing were mainly drinkers, many of whom were watching the live Liverpool v Chelsea football which was being blasted out, making it quite a noisy experience. Only one real ale was on. This was East London Brewery Foundation. Craft beers were Signature Backstage & Roadie, Beavertown Neck Oil, Hackney Kapow, Camden Hells & Two Tribes Metroland. Having approached from the estate and departing towards the Eleanor Arms, I never noticed the mural mentioned below and displayed in pictures.

The pub dates from the mid-19th century, but I suspect has been rebuilt between the wars. Until around three years ago, there was a Whitbread sign frame and about four years ago, a large mural dedicated to the Suffragettes arrived on the west wall; they apparently drank here. It’s nearly eight years since I passed by but didn’t enter and the place then was a basic locals’ boozer; how the area – and now pub – have changed. Thoroughly hipsterfied and now with Wi-Fi, this has now been very stripped out, with a bare floor and mostly walls of bare brick, with some floral wallpaper and very distressed paintwork to the windows; the floor is part tiled and part boarded. Little illumination came from simple sconces or large metal shaded lamps over the bar. There’s no obvious décor but there’s an attractive carved wood fireplace and unusually for a pub, there was a pinball machine. Furniture was basic and music was loud, coming from very large speakers and along with a glitterball hanging over the bar (see website), hinted at ominous happenings come Friday or Saturday. There was also a megavision screen showing the football with the sound down. What was of interest though, was the white Vitrolite panelled ceiling, a trademark of A. E. Sewell’s interwar-years Truman’s pubs, but I don’t know whether his other trademark finery has been ripped out or if this was one of his early examples. Ales amounted to one reversed pump clip and one unused, so it was a half of Neck Oil at £3.15, served by a friendly barman. This isn’t a great place, unless you’re a member of the Club 18-30 brigade; the Eleanor Arms is the discerning pubgoers’ choice when in the immediate vicinity.

Official site of Lord Morpeth - www.lordmorpeth.co.uk

Official site of Lord Morpeth - www.lordmorpeth.co.uk

Located close to Victoria Park and the Hertford Union Canal, this corner pub has a 'U'-shaped bar with mixed furniture and a limited decor (apart from some sports trophies in a far corner). Appears to have had a recent change of target audience, with retro jukebox, pinball and Pac-Man machines, but - remarkably these days for somewhere which is no longer a basic backstreet boozer - no wi-fi. Three handpumps, with Hogs Back TEA, Upham Punter (£3.80) and ELB RivetCatcher on offer.

The Lord Morpeth is a small corner pub that has a great backdrop of some tall flats which are on the estate that the pub serves. Once inside there is a single room with the bar facing,there was a darts board on a small raised area to the front right,the seating was normal tables and chairs,the floor was carpeted. There were no real ales on the bar,i had a drink of keg Courage Best which was drinkable. The pub was fairly busy which is nice to see on a midweek afternoon,there was some background music playing. I was quite happy drinking in this pub. Pub visited 19/2/2014