Greenwich (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Woolwich’s Director General pub, once cherished for its stained-glass windows and community spirit, has been replaced by a Tesco store in Greenwich.
Before being demolished in 2008 as part of a significant town center renovation, the Director General, or “DG,” stood at 55 Wellington Street and served generations of locals.
It used to be a favorite among the employees of the printing plant across the street. It gained recognition as a gay-friendly club in subsequent years and was praised for its friendly ambiance.
The DG was more than simply a pub; it was a piece of local history, named for a formidable gun from the Victorian era that was once on exhibit in the adjacent Royal Arsenal.
Some of the building’s historic characteristics had been called for to be preserved by campaigners, but their efforts ultimately failed.
The tavern was demolished to make room for the new supermarket, despite protests from preservation organizations and the local MP.
Later, the Tesco that took its place won the 2014 Carbuncle Cup for “UK’s ugliest new building.”
The Director General’s narrative is now included in Sam Cullen’s recently published book London’s Lost Pubs (£20 Pen and Sword).
Using decades’ worth of reviews, guides, and recollections to bring their history to life, the book chronicles more than 200 pubs that have vanished from London in the last 25 years.
Cullen said:
“As much as it’s sad that these pubs don’t exist any more, I wanted to make sure they are not lost to time by telling their stories, their history, and some of the quirky characters who drank in them.
Pubs can tell you so much about social and cultural history. The book is a celebration of pubs that existed as a vehicle for looking at aspects of London life.”
Even though the Director General is no longer with us, its legacy endures in the books of Cullen and in the recollections of those who knew it.
How did the community react to the demolition of the Director General pub in Greenwich?
The Director General frequently causes local communities, who regard these facilities as significant social and cultural centers, to express dissatisfaction and worry.
Many community members and preservation advocates perceive these demolitions as a loss of local identity and tradition, and they are often part of a larger trend of historic pubs being demolished or transformed into other uses.
Located on Wellington Street/Love Lane in Woolwich, the Director General was a well-liked historic tavern. As a testament to its lengthy history, it was more than a century old and still had elements from its inception, such as numbered cellar doors.
The tavern was well-known in the neighborhood, especially among Thames Polytechnic students in the 1980s, and was cherished for its vintage ambiance.