RIP Charles Gallagher (Dog & Bell) and Bill Mannix (Rivoli Ballroom)

Sorry to hear of the death this week of a couple of SE London nightlife legends:  Charles Gallagher, landlord of the Dog and Bell in Deptford from 1988 to 2016, and Bill Mannix who has owned the Rivoli Ballroom in Crofton Park for the last 40 years and against the odds has kept it alive and thriving as London's last remaining ballroom of its kind.

Like many others I have spend many happy hours in both these fine places, which have had an enduring impact of the life and culture of SE London and beyond. 

Charles Gallagher (1947-2025)

William Mannix (1938-2025)

 (photos from @the_dog_and_bell and @rivoliballroom on insta)

Previous posts on the Rivoli (a lot)

Previous posts mentioning Dog and Bell

May Day events next week

Next Monday April 28, Haunt London presents:

May Day in South London and the Jack-in-the-Green Day in South London and the Jack-in-the-Gr
'The first day of May has long been a time of riots, revelry, ribaldry and the Jack-in-the-Green, a dancing leafy green giant once seen all over London and revived in Deptford thirty years ago this year by the Fowlers Troop.

Come hear of London customs and celebrations and protest from Sarah Crofts of the Fowlers Troop, Dave Aylward of Fowlers Troop and Blurt and Neil Transpontine, south London blogger and historian. It will be a night with talks and film that will include chimney-sweep celebrations, possible neo-paganism, anarchists and the story of David Bowie and the Bromley May Queens.

The Miller Pub, 96 Snowfields, SE1 3SS, 8 pm (£3/£2 concessions)

(facebook event details)

Deptford Jack in the Green

Meanwhile on May Day itself, the Deptford Jack in the Green/Fowlers Troop will be parading through Greenwich and Deptford, details as follows:

Thursday 1st May 2014

11.30 meet: Dog and Bell, 116 Prince St  London, London SE8 3JD, leave at 12.00,
12.15: Duke, 125 Creek Rd, London SE8 3BU, leave at 12.30,
12.45: Old Loyal Britons, 62 Thames St, London SE10 9BX [lunch stop], leave at 13.30, via Old Royal Naval College*,
14.00: Star and Garter, 60 Old Woolwich Rd, Greenwich, London SE10 9NY, leave at 14.35,
14.50: Plume of Feathers, 19 Park Vista  London, London SE10 9LZ, leave at 15.20, via Greenwich Park*,
16.00: Greenwich Union, 56, Royal Hill, Greenwich, London, SE10 8RT, leave at 16.30,
17.00: Ashburnham Arms, 25 Ashburnham Grove,  Greenwich, London SE10 8UH.

All times approximate.

Dressing the Jack will take place from 20.00 on Wednesday 30th April at the Dog and Bell, any flowers you have will be very welcome. Further details here

Deptford Jack in the Green on Creek Road in 2013

Music Monday: Deptford Shanty Crew

London Mayor Boris Johnson is due to make a decision this month on whether to give planning permission to the controversial proposal for a redevelopment of Convoys Wharf, the riverside site in Deptford that was once home to the Royal Dockyard. As reported here previously, Johnson announced last October that he was taking the power to make this decision away from Lewisham Council.

The Deptford Shanty Crew have written a song for the campaign against the current Convoys Wharf plan- 'Deptford's Dockyard':

Chorus:
And it's [stamp] sell her off to a big business man
There goes Deptford's dockyard
There goes our history and our land
Way off in the hands of the London mayor

Verses:
They dug up the anchor and took it away
There goes Deptford's dockyard
Would not listen to what the people say
Now it's way off in the hands of the London mayor

Locals wanna build the Lenox again
Right there in Deptford's dockyard
Could pass on their history to the next gen
But it's way off in the hands of the London mayor

Apprentices could learn the trade
Right there in Deptford's dockyard
Our maritime history could be saved
But it's way off in the hands of the London mayor

Open up the gardens for all to see
Right there in Deptford's dockyard
We want Evelyn's vision to be free
But it's way off in the hands of the London mayor

The developers just don't get the plan
There goes Deptford's dockyard
They're gonna flush our project down the pan
They put it in the hands of the London mayor

No jobs and homes for us in their plan
Right there in Deptford's dockyard
Just lots more cash in the developers bank
Now it's way off in the hands of the London mayor

They want to sell more expensive flats
Right there in Deptford's dockyard
But people come first and that is that
And Deptford's history's worth more than cash!

So listen to us and not their dough
It's our Deptford dockyard
Boris give our project a chance to grow
Release it from the hands of the London mayor



For more on the campaign, see Deptford Is...

Deptford Shanty Crew was formed last year, here they are performing at the Deptford Lounge in December 2013 singing the 19th century sailors song 'Homeward Bound', which in some versions mentions the Dog and Bell pub in Deptford and its 1820s landlord David Archer (see Deptford Misc for more detail):

'And now we haul to the Dog and Bell
Where there's good liquor for to sell.
ln comes old Archer with a smile,
Saying: "Drink, my lads, it's worth your while."
For I see you are homeward bound,
I see you are homeward bound'.

Deptford Dolphins in Daring (Dangerous?) Thames Swim

This has come from some people who may or may not be close to the Deptford Three Sided Football Club. The tale of  a 'pre war equinoctial swim' in Deptford may or may not be pseudo-history. But they are deadly serious about swimming in the Thames at Deptford on Sunday 22 September:

'Through playing 3-sided-football with some of the guys down at (new) Deptford Green on sundays there has been a move to try and establish a Deptford Alternative Sports group and a few of us have decided to try and kick start this by resurrecting the pre war equinoctial swim out to the Borthwick dolphins from the Watergate steps. This (apparently) used to occur around the 21st Sept at the autumn high tide and involved swimming out from the steps to the crane derrick, climbing to the top of the wooden support braces and diving back in to return to the steps. Accomplishment of the swim would (apparently) allow the participant to be addressed as a "Deptford Dolphin".

We are intending to do the swim at the 3.15pm high tide on Sunday 22nd September. Meeting in the Dog & Bell pub on Watergate St at 2.00pm. While there are three of us committed, it would be great to expand participation a bit'.

OK at low tide it doesn't look far from the shore to the crane derrick (the structure on the left), but there will be water in between. Strong swimmers only and I would leave the drinking until afterwards!

Fred Aylward's Deptford X Art Quiz

Tomorrow night (Friday 10th August), 9 pm at the Dog and Bell, 116 Prince Street, Deptford SE8 3JD..

'A pub quiz consisting of 40 questions based on art, design and knowledge of the local area and history. £1-00 per person.Cash prizes for the 1st and 2nd winning teams and spot prizes.Good real ale,beer and lots of fun.Look forward to seeing you there best wishes Fred'.

Fred Aylward as Les in
Vic Reeves Big Night Out