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What is a Public House?
I looked the definition up in a dictionary.
Answer: A Public House is an establishment where alcoholic drinks are sold and consumed, that could cover many establishments. I have put my own interpretation to this definition to compile this site.
Using my definition of pub, I’ve managed to compile 33 pubs and bars from Harlow, you will recognise most of the establishments as traditional pubs.
It is only in Harlow town centre have I included bars and nightclubs taking the total to 40 establishments.
Harlow has some strangely named pubs.
When Harlow New town was constructed, the body in charge of building the town was the Harlow Development Corporation.
The corporation had a community plan, each new housing development would be built like small villages within the town, adding to the existing villages and hamlets the new town would swallow up.
The community plan included shops,
schools, doctors,churches and pubs.
With so many pubs envisaged a theme was required that would cover all of the new town pubs.
One of the members of the board, Doctor Stephen Taylor, later to become Lord Taylor of Harlow, suggested naming all the new town pubs after British butterfly's and moths.
His idea was taken up and in 1952 the first new town pub, The Essex Skipper, opened at the Stow shopping centre, followed by the White Admiral at Ward Hatch.
Lord Taylor was also instrumental in establishing the group health centre's and the industrial health centre in Harlow, also the Newfoundland University Campus at Old Harlow.
One pub just outside Harlow decided the insect theme was a good idea and changed it’s name from The Railway Inn to the Dusty Miller after a fishing fly.
Even a new pub, built on the old Sun and Whale bone pub site, also just outside Harlow in Hastingwood took up the moths and butterfly theme and called their new pub the Gatekeeper, now renamed Millers and Cooper
| Pubs named after British Moths and Butterfly's |
| Archers Dart |
Drinker Moth |
Essex Skipper |
| Garden Tiger |
Gate Keeper |
Golden Swift |
| Heart & Club |
Herald |
Humming Bird |
| Orange Footman |
Painted Lady |
Phoenix |
| Poplar Kitten |
Purple Emperor |
Shark |
| Small Copper |
White Admiral |
Willow Beauty |
N.B. One of the pubs above has stopped trading, the Orange Footman was demolished when the Staple Tye shopping centre was redeveloped.
The Painted Lady has changed it's name twice, once to the Jean Harlow and now to Quattroz, a night club.
The Painted Lady was originally designed by Sir Frederick Gibbard, the master planner and architect for Harlow New Town,with a "Public bar" on the right and a "Saloon Bar" on the left, with an "off licence" in the middle.On the second floor a restaurant and terracing for a cafe.
It used to be my second home when Don and Margaret were the licensees.
Many years ago I collaborated with Ian Hunter from Tiptree Essex, trying to work out where the pubs were located in relation to the old parish records, this was for his website the historical directory of Essex Inns and Taverns, where you can find who the land lord was centuries ago.
There are many links back to Essex Inns and Taverns in the "Harlow pubs and bars list" and "a bit of history".
Sadly Ian passed away on 16th September 2003, at first I thought his work was lost.
I needn't have worried, Kevan from "The Historical Directory of Pubs in the South East of England, including London" or to put it a bit easier Essex Public Houses has taken Ian's work into his site.
Parishes of Harlow listed in Essex Public Houses:
Harlow Netteswell Great Parndon Little Parndon Latton
For more photos click above |
Navigation
Use the menu at the bottom of the page
Explination of the menu
Harlow Pubs & Bars list:
41Harlow pubs bars and night clubs listed with photos, address and location map links, pub website links, night club website links etc.
A bit of history:
This section covers a tiny bit of the pub history within the town.
About the photos:
Tells the tale of how or why this part of the site was resurrected.
In addition another small menu apears at the bottom of the page, this relates to old photos of pubs and the Easter Steam Run.
19th century Map:
This map detials the Harlow new town parishes before the new town was built.
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