Key to the Entries
At the top of the entry is the current (or most recently known) pub name for the premises. Where this is listed as "[Unknown]", this may be because it was an off licence rather than a pub or beer house (it may even have been the residence of a publican), and if I verify this with greater certainty I will remove the entry for that premises, as I don't include off licences on this site. However, the historical records often omit the names of smaller establishments (the beer houses), in some cases because they may not have had names, and in any case even the line between off licence and beer house is blurred (many of them predating bottled or canned beer). I have tried to include notes in the comments about what type of establishment it may have been, and the listed names may be "[Public house]" or "[Beer house]" if I'm fairly sure it was one of these but do not yet have a name for it. As always, I'd appreciate any help with the names of these where I have them listed without one (there is a link on each entry for notifying me of any corrections).
Status: I've noted against each record whether the pub is still trading ("Open") or, if it is not, whether the building is still there ("Closed") or not ("Demolished"). Note that "Closed" pubs may still be in use for other purposes (whether as restaurants, shops or residential). These are colour-coded on the maps using a traffic lights system.
Address: The most recent address of the pub while it was open. Where street names or numbering have since changed, I've made a note of this in the Former Address field (see below).
London borough: The modern London borough into which the pub would fall. I've included this even where the premises existed before the modern borough, or the borough's boundaries have changed since the pub was open.
Former name(s): If a pub was on the same physical site as a more recent incarnation, I've noted this in square brackets (as "[same site]"). There may be a gap between when the pub on the same site was there and when the current premises started trading as a pub, in which case this should be reflected in the 'Dates open' field. Please be aware that there is a certain amount of fluidity in pub names as to whether they include 'Arms', 'Tavern', et al., as part of the name. For current pubs, I've tried to use what's written on the pub, but the name can differ in historical records, and the pub itself may even use slightly different versions of the name in different places (on the pub, on the sign, on the website, in written and spoken references, etc.). It will probably never be possible to be 100% accurate.
Former address: Street names may change over time. When a pub is on a corner site, it can sometimes be listed with the name of the intersecting street, meaning it shows up with more than one address at any given time (and if both streets have changed names once or twice, that can create further confusion). Premises may expand into neighbouring properties, or they may move entirely. In this last case I have noted "[different site]" next to a former address, to indicate it was in a physically different location, and have tried to include in the notes where the former site was in relation to the most recent one. The years in brackets indicate a date (usually the most recent) I have found for when a former address was used. If it says "pre-[year]" that means the street was renamed in that year. Again, the dates in which a street changed name are mostly quite rough, as directories can take several years to update their listings in some cases.
Historical parish: Prior to the creation in 1965 of the modern London boroughs (see above), there were older (usually church-based) administrative divisions, used for example in census returns. I have included an historical parish, even where the premises may post-date the use of these parish boundaries. Where a pub has moved over time, it may have originally been in a different parish. These historical parishes reflect the structure used on the Pub Wiki (aka Pubs History) website, and may appear in other genealogical sources.
Dates open: I have also included information where I can about the dates pubs were open, though I still have much work to do here. Most of the dates are fairly rough. The earliest attested date I can find will be preceded with the word "by" if I cannot find an exact date, and similarly the latest attested date will be preceded with the words "at least" (NB long-time readers may know that I used to use square brackets on my site for these dates). Note that the actual date of opening/closing may differ widely in these cases, so DO NOT take these as the date the pub actually opened or closed. If I do have an exact date, these will be presented without any other text, though some may be circa ("c") if I have reason to think this is approximate. These dates are often taken from the invaluable Pub Wiki website, from census returns, from Ordnance Survey maps, or from write-ups in various history and pub listings books (and detailed in the Sources field, see below). Some may be taken from the pubs' own websites, and in most cases dates should be taken as approximate rather than exact.
Good Beer Guide: Years that this pub has been in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide, along with a note in square brackets if it was under a former name.
Owner: The names of the breweries or companies owning a premises over time, where I have discovered this information. Changes in pub ownership (especially for modern PubCos) can be labyrinthine and are often not well publicised, though breweries tend to put their livery on the pub. I do not always keep this information fastidiously up to date, and there may be some historical inaccuracies in the names used by breweries and PubCos.
Website: The pub's official website.
Links: Links to the main sources of information for reviews and listings. The key one I use is Pubs History (formerly Dead Pubs, for detailed genealogical information). Sites for modern reviews and comments include the Randomness Guide to London, WhatPub (CAMRA's site), Pubs Galore and Beer In The Evening.
Sources: Under the cut, I have tried to indicate which sources my information comes from. Some common abbreviations I've used include OS (Ordnance Survey map + year) and PO (Post Office and other similar directories + year), as well as the update numbers from CAMRA's bi-monthly London Drinker magazine, which has useful numbered updates (thus "London Drinker Uxxx" or "WPxx", which is the new series of updates derived from their WhatPub site). Where my information comes from personal observation, I've used my own initials (EM), or if it has come from an e-mail to me I've noted that as well (Tris is a particularly excellent source of information to me; thanks Tris!). If a premises is listed in the Census records, I've included the name of the publican/beer house keeper in square brackets, though full information will be at the Pubs History site.
References: These are mainly to archive documents in the National Archives, and use the archive codes found on that site.