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| Location | 316 New Cross Rd, Lewisham, London, SE14 |
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| Closed | 2003 |
The Goldsmiths Tavern was a pub and venue for both live music and comedy located at 316 New Cross Road, in the New Cross area of the London Borough of Lewisham in south-east London.
History
The pub was originally named The New Cross House. Nathan Dews' book The History of Deptford from 1884 refers to a pub of that name "at the top of Clifton Hill", and so presumably in roughly the same spot. An issue of the Berkshire Chronicle from 16 July 1825 also refers to an establishment of that name in Deptford. In the 1960s Goldsmiths University students ran a folk club there.
It was the original venue of Vic Reeves Big Night Out, a live comedy night he started there in 1986 before moving it to the Albany Empire in 1988, and also where Reeves met future comedy partner Bob Mortimer.
Whilst generally attracting a mixed clientele, it held gay nights in the 1980s and was considered an LGBTQ friendly space. Paul O'Grady would also perform there. A club night named The Gift, calling itself "The only London Gay Alternative Club", ran there in the mid-1980s and hosted bands such as The Love Act and The House of Love.
The building is still a pub, though now once again named The New Cross House.
References
- Dews, Nathan (1884). The History of Deptford - In The Counties of Kent and Surrey. Simpkin. p. 307.
- "Sales By Auction". Berkshire Chronicle. Vol. 1, no. XXV. 16 July 1825.
- Bean, JP (2014). Singing from the Floor: A History of British Folk Clubs. Faber & Faber. ISBN 9780571305469.
- Mortimer, Bob (2021). And Away... Gallery UK. ISBN 9781398505308.
- Hunt, Leon (2015). Cult British TV comedy: From Reeves and Mortimer to Psychoville. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781526102362.
- "Oral Histories: Richard Stableford". In Living Memory.
- Spartacus International Gay Guide. Spartacus. 1988. ISBN 978-3-924163-33-4.
- O'Grady, Paul (2012). Still Standing: The Savage Years. London: Bantam. ISBN 978-0-593-06939-4.
- "London Goldsmiths Tavern (The Gift) 13/06/1987". The House of Love Archive.
- Birkett-Eyles, Rupert; Friend, Jack; Merrell, Harry (8 April 2024). "Discovering East London's lost music venues". East London Lines. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
- Allen, Carl (2016). London Gig Venues. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445658209.
