Gay cabaret club in London closed suddenly by Faucet Inn chain

16 April 2015 by
Gay cabaret club in London closed suddenly by Faucet Inn chain

Gay cabaret club the Black Cap in London's Camden has been closed by the Faucet Inn chain, according to reports.

The London Evening Standard newspaper reported that the historic, 19th century pub has been closed this week, after an attempt to turn its upper floors into flats failed in February.

The pub was especially well-known as the location in which comedian and broadcaster Paul O'Grady, whose alter ego is Lily Savage, first performed in the early Eighties, while Julian Clary also took his act, the Joan Collins Fanclub, to the pub. It was said to be gay friendly two years before homosexuality was effectively decriminalised in the UK.

O'Grady told the paper: "It's a very grim day for the gay and cabaret scene…it's one of the most important gay venues in London…it's sickening that it could be shut like this."

Faucet Inn has operated the pub on behalf of a freeholder for the past five years but said it was no longer able to do so. Camden council gave the pub "asset to community value" status last week, which will ensure that it cannot be sold without giving the community a chance to bid.

At the time of writing Faucet Inn was not available to comment.

The news comes in the same fortnight as reports emerged of a historic pub in Kilburn, the Carlton Tavern, being bulldozed by developers without permission from the council.

London pub demolished without permission >>

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking