Drink at the Blind Beggar

Your author struggled to choose the hook for today's item, as the truth is that the Blind Beggar in Whitechapel is a legend in itself. The pub is probably best known for its connection with the Kray Twins, after the incident in 1966 when Ronnie Kray shot and murdered George Cornell, an associate of a rival gang, as he was sitting at the bar. but there is so much more to it than that...


The pub is also the birthplace of the Salvation Army, as it was outside the public house which previously stood on the site that William Booth, founder of the organisation, gave his first open air sermon in 1865.

The pub itself was built in 1894 on a site previously occupied by another inn. The pub is named after Henry de Montfort, a son of Simon de Montfort, the famous leader who called the first directly elected parliament in medieval Europe. Henry was apparently wounded and lost his sight in the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and used to beg at the crossroads, becoming referred to as the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green.

For more on the Blind Beggar, visit http://www.theblindbeggar.com

_{^Picture by stevecadman^}