Most readers by now know that the new Camden Town Brewery pub, which will serve the finest local beers, Lebanese streetfood and all-day coffee, is taking shape on the corner of Holmes and Kentish Town Roads. And hasn’t it been a while coming?
It’s the latest incarnation of a long line of notable alehouses which have stood on the same site over the centuries – and just one example of Kentish Town’s rich tradition of, erm, alcohol consumption.
Peer closely – once the scaffolding’s down, at any rate – and you’ll see its history imprinted in the two prominent plaques on the exterior walls: one marks its previous history as The Old Farm House, while another notes that it was rebuilt back in 1885.
And it’s been through a whole smorgasbord of names in that time, too. Originally the Star & Garter, it was rebuilt into its present form (with that striking Victorian red brick exterior) and rechristened The Old Farm House for a century or so, before renamed O’Reilly’s in 2001. There was also, older eagle-eyed readers may note, a short stint in the 1990s as Dolly Fossett’s.
And now Camden Town Brewery have unveiled their new moniker for the pub. So why Camden’s Daughter? “The name was inspired by the idea of a ‘child’ of the brewery,” says owner Jasper Cuppaidge, whose nearby Wilkin Street Mews operation recently celebrated its fifth birthday.
“It’s also inspired by my own daughters. Girls often collect and archive things so if this new ‘child’ would be telling the story of the brewery it would naturally be a daughter. Another coincidence is that the new manager has the same name as one of my own girls, too.”
And there we have it. In a few weeks’ time you’ll be salivating at the spinning chicken and lamb kebabs, deep fried chickpeas and lashings of baba ganoush. Not to mention a fridge full of cans from their favourite breweries worldwide – as well as their own, silly.
So we’ll see you for a pint of Hells down the Daughter.