The earliest record for the Stag I could find was in 1854, the owner being Francis Antrim. Previous to this though Francis Antrim was a beer retailer in Upper Bedford Street from as early as 1841. Whether this was the Stag, I do not know. Francis lived in Upper Bedford Street with his wife Ann and their six children. It seems that his son Henry Antrim was running the Stag from at least 1854. By 1861 Francis had died and Ann was running the Stag at this time. In 1871 Henry is running the Stag with his wife and family.
I have been told by the new developers that the Stag was not the original building except for the right side where the blocked up archway would have led into Bedford Buildings. However old this building was I loved that it survived all the tower blocks that have been built around it. To know that the Stag survived in whatever form it did for almost 170 years is incredible. I was lucky enough to have a drink in the Stag a few days before it closed in April 2012.
Update April 2014: Building on the site of the Stag pub in Upper Bedford Street. Image included of how it will look when finished.
1 thought on “Demolition of The Stag Public House, Upper Bedford Street”
My father owned and ran this pub from 1984-86. Was a terrific boozer. Seemed like quite a bohemian clientele as I remember it. An excellent range of real ales at about 90p a pint I seem to recall. My father sold it to Sheperd Neame in 1986,