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Picture source: Stephen Harris

The Black Bull was situated at 199 Whitechapel Road. This pub was present by 1812 and closed in 2007.  It then reopened briefly as Bar Nakoda, before converting to restaurant use shortly afterwards.  Historically I think it had been a Truman’s Brewery pub, but by 1986 it was a free house and had associations with the Leyland and later the Nethergate breweries.  It was really a place for watching TV sport, and you could place a bet on the outcome of pretty much anything that was being shown.  Also known for its video jukebox at a time when such things were new-fangled inventions.

During my student years I worked a summer at this pub in 1989. The patrons were primarily local, working class, but it was quite a diverse group. Many people were qualified laborers from all over UK, employed at the time on the construction sites of the Docklands. I recall several small business owners, one gentleman who ran a business repossessing cars, and one who ran a welding shop. Among the regulars there was a number of neighbors from the growing Asian community from Bangladesh who would come by for a drink or two but who usually wouldn't stay too long. One small yet frequently repreśented and quite plesant group of patrons were employees of the nearby London Hospital. In particlar, a number of ńightshift watchmen/security guards used to come over for drinks. Perhaps typical for this type of pub, according to the governor's wife, there were 4 things that could not be discussed at the bar or in general: religion, Northern Ireland, football and sex. They often were of course such discussion, however the rule was frequently referred to shut down conversations which possibly could be going in the wrong direction.

Agnieszka Kubiniec (April 2018)

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