Drink in a nursery rhyme pub - The Eagle, City Road

Another piece of East London trivia relates to The Eagle, on City Road. You may be aware of the site, even if you have never been to the area, for the Eagle plays a key role in the nursery rhyme, "Pop Goes the Weasel".


The rhyme, which apparently has its origins in the mid 19th century, contains the words:

"Up and down the City Road
In and out the Eagle
That's the way the money goes
Pop! goes the weasel"

A bit of digging in the London Encyclopaedia tells us that the rhyme probably refers to the music hall which was here as early as 1825, and this makes sense because the earliest record of the rhyme is in a music sheet acquired by the British Library in 1853.

After being a music hall the building became a Grecian Theatre, playing host to melodrama, music and ballet, and it was not until the early 20th century, after demolition, a rebuild and brief spell as a Salvation Army centre, that it became a pub.

It remains a pub, albeit one full of loud music and poser kids who spend too much time on their hair, to this day, but still manages not to quite be as rubbish as some places in the area. Tuesdays are wine night, where a bottle of wine is £7.95. Avoid the quiz, as when your author last visited on quiz night the chap who ran it was unfeasably annoying and loved the sound of his own voice more than life itself.

For more information, visit http://www.theeaglehoxton.co.uk/

_{^Picture from geograph by Stephen McKay^}