Food type Gastropub Country England | City London Website thebullandbush.co.uk | |
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The Old Bull and Bush is a Grade II listed public house near Hampstead Heath in London which gave its name to the music hall song "Down at the old Bull and Bush" sung by Florrie Forde.
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The Old Bull and Bush is managed by Mitchells and Butlers under the Premium Country Dining Group brand. The interior was renovated to a modern, gastropub style with an openly visible kitchen and reopened to the public on 24 March 2006. Until the introduction of the English smoking ban on July 1, 2007, The Bull and Bush was one of the few completely smoke-free pubs in London.
History
The earliest record of a building on the site is of a farmhouse in 1645. The farmhouse gained a licence to sell ale in 1721. William Hogarth drank here, and is believed to have been involved in planting out the pub garden.
The pub gained a music licence in 1867 when Henry Humphries was the landlord, and the pub became popular as a day trip for cockneys, resulting in the Florrie Forde song "Down at the old Bull and Bush".
The building underwent a major reconstruction in 1924 when owned by the Ind Coope brewery. Another refurbishment took place in 1987.
Bull and Bush tube station
Near to the pub was the site of the proposed North End tube station (also called Bull and Bush) on the Northern line of the London Underground. Only the platforms were excavated, and the station construction was cancelled. An entrance leading down 197 steps to platform level is located on the corner of North End and Wildwood Terrace.