Wander down the wrong alleyway by Tower Bridge, and you may end up in The Thames.
But head down the correct one and you’ll stumble upon the crumbling glory that is Wilton’s Music Hall.
A public house since 1725, it’s said that visiting sailors (who had never even heard of St. Paul’s Cathedral) knew exactly where to find The Mahogany Bar.
Beautiful, eerie and charmingly ramshackle, you can still visit the bar whenever you like. And after years of local campaigning and painstaking refurbishment; the original Victorian music hall itself has been lovingly restored and now plays host to a vast range of live entertainment, from theatre and music to comedy and cabaret.
Donald Judge/Flickr
THE HISTORY OF WILTON’S MUSIC HALL
Wilton’s occupies a space that was once five separate buildings on a cramped terrace, the largest of which was the original Mahogany Bar (so-called because it was supposedly the first alehouse to have a mahogany bartop installed). Unsurprisingly for such a high-falutin’ establishment, the pub was extended to include a concert room in 1839, which a few years later was fully licensed as a pub theatre.
In around 1850, John Wilton bought the pub, tore down the concert room, and replaced it with a grand music hall. Nine years later he tore that down and replaced it with his ‘Magnificent New Music Hall’, replete with chandeliers, mirrors, ornate plasterwork and the latest heating and lighting equipment. From there, it was unstoppable, playing host to some of the finest variety show artistes of the era… until it was stopped by a huge fire in 1877. Though it was rebuilt a year later, it was deemed structurally unsound and eventually closed in 1881.
Paul Marc Mitchell
After that, it was used for decades as a Methodist Mission Centre, dedicated to helping the poor and needy of the East End and operating as a soup kitchen during the dock workers strikes of the late 19th century. Postwar, it became a makeshift rag sorting centre, before falling into complete dereliction. In the early 70s, locals and performers including Spike Milligan started campaigning to restore Wilton’s Music Hall to its former glory, saving it from demolition – unlike all the other buildings that once surrounded it – and scoring it a Grade II listing. It’s thanks to over half a century’s efforts that the building’s finally become completely usable again, and the programme here offers up quirky entertainment that befits its unusual setting, from silent movie screenings to One Track Minds.
Lively, buzzing and warm, the Mahogany Bar is the oldest part of the building, still sporting that original bar top, peeling plasterwork and rickety looking reclaimed furniture. The menu boasts a wide range of unique, locally sourced beverages, as well as tapas-styled bites, pizza by the slice and tubs of Hackney Gelato to finish.
It’s what the sailors would have wanted.
NOTE: Wilton’s Music Hall hosts regular performances – you can find out more and book tickets HERE. The Mahogany Bar is open on show days from 5.30pm (or 1pm matinees, drinks only) – no reservations needed, just turn up.
Wilton’s Music Hall | 1 Grace’s Alley, E1 8JB
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