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Picture source: Roger Ford

The Charlie Butler was situated at 40 Mortlake High Street.

Source: Paul Bullen

This was the only London pub named after a then-living employee of its owned brewery. Charlie Butler, an award-winning head horse keeper at Young’s Brewery in Wandsworth, retired in 1966 after 43 years of service, during which Young’s horses won over 3,000 prizes. The pub opened in 1968, replacing the Old George, which had been demolished for road widening—a change that wasn’t entirely welcomed by locals, despite Young’s refusal to reconsider. The pub stood near The Stag Brewery, once home to Watneys and later Budweiser production, but by 2011, plans emerged to demolish the pub and build flats. A petition opposing the closure gained attention, particularly from the London Jazz News, as the venue hosted open mic nights and jam sessions. Despite this, it shut in 2012, and a police raid later that year uncovered Class A and B drugs. The building was demolished in 2013, but Charlie Butler’s name lives on in an unexpected place—his pub’s sign now hangs in the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium in Houston, Texas, gifted by the Young family at the start of the 21st century.

thisislocallondon.co.uk (March 2025)

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