Lady Hamilton, London

Ham and High reports July 23rd 2024 - Lady Hamilton to reopen as The Old Farmhouse. The new operator - the First Restaurant Group - has a number of venues inc the Oak & Poppy in Hampstead. Opening is expected around October.

https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/24470147.kentish-town-lady-hamilton-reopen-old-farmhouse

07/08/23 - posts on thier twitter and instagram feeds - "we have sadly closed down now permanently" - a sad loss. See

https://www.kentishtowner.co.uk/2023/08/02/lady-hamilton-closed-for-good-and-the-story-of-the-victorian-boozer/

We beleive the operatory decided not to renew the lease as business hasn't been good and they had taken quite a hit on trade mainly due to the closure of Kentish Town station for a year.

Handpumps unused on 26 Feb 2023, with chalkboards obscuring the pumps. Other walk-by inspections in recent weeks similar. March 2023 - Confirmed .... "The Lady Hamilton still has the two hand-pumps but there are no beer clips on them ...

when I asked the bar staff, they mentioned that they hadn't had real ales on for some time now and they don't expect to have any anytime soon."

After a period under the management of the Camden Town Brewery (from Nov 2015) reopened as The Lady Hamilton under the same ownership as the nearby Pineapple and Tapping the Admiral. Two handpumps have been installed and there is also a large selection of keg taps, mostly featuring beers from London's breweries. There is an upstairs bar and function room. On a visit in April 2022 the guest was from Big Hug Brewery.

From the Camden New Journal, Poppy Wheldon, who manages the pub pub, said: “We wanted to celebrate Lady Emma Hamilton – she was a real Kentish Town celebrity. Men would fall at her feet, and it is great to name a pub after a woman who isn’t a queen. It is the perfect spot for us – exactly between our two other pubs.”

There is an open kitchen which shows the last vestiges of Camden's ownership - white tiles. It is operated by Rosella and is mainly made up of pizzas with some other Italian offerings (takeaway available or via Deliveroo or Uber Eats). Elsewhere these tiles have been sensitively replaced to create a much more welcoming pub with the lighting creating a warm atmosphere. The ceiling, dating back to the 1970s, is a nice feature brought to life by the new owners. The decor, especially the framed pictures might best be described as eclectic.

Rebuilt in 1885, it was the Old Farm House and then became O'Reillys in 1998, one of the last "Irish pubs" in Camden with a striking old-style interior. This all changed when Camden Town brewery took over.