If you turn off of Cable Street just a short walk from the tourist hoards in Tower Bridge, turn into the little-used Graces Alley and you will find a small row of four terrace houses that is Wilton’s Music Hall.
One of the earliest exponents of musical theatre, it claims to be the first pub to install a Mahogany bar named, unimaginatively, the Mahogany Bar, which still exists today.
After running as a musical theatre establishment in the 1800s it eventually fell into the hands of a Methodist mission, who changed it from the ‘debauchery’ of it’s heyday into a place of worship, operating a soup kitchen for the burgeoning urban poor of the East End, and calling it the Mahogany Mission.
Then it fell into disrepair again before being revamped more recently into a unique venue for a variety of shows, as well as being hired out for weddings and other functions.
It has been popular with filmmakers over the past few decades; in the 1980s it featured in the video for Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Relax and Annie Lenox’s No more I love yous.
It also featured in the 1990 biopic of the Krays with the Kemp brothers, where it became their nightclub.
Anyway, the Mahogany Bar is a nice place to get a drink, even if you don’t fancy any of the shows. They also do history tours if you’re interested in learning more.
Categories: London
Hey Sarah how lovely is this. I couldn’t agree with you more re both the Kemps and small town suburbia! Hope all is well x
Yeah I never miss a chance to have a dig at suburbanites 🙂
Looks like the perfect place for a burlesque show!
yeah I think that’d work well. These days it’s more opera and that kind of thing but it’d make an awesome party venue.