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| Location | 316 New Cross Rd, Lewisham, London,SE14 |
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| Closed | 2003 |
The Goldsmiths Tavern was apub and venue for bothlive music andcomedy located at 316 New Cross Road, in theNew Cross area of theLondon Borough of Lewisham in south-east London.
The pub was originally named The New Cross House. Nathan Dews' bookThe History of Deptford from 1884 refers to a pub of that name "at the top of Clifton Hill", and so presumably in roughly the same spot.[1] An issue of theBerkshire Chronicle from 16 July 1825 also refers to an establishment of that name in Deptford.[2] In the 1960sGoldsmiths University students ran a folk club there.[3] The club saw performances by acts such asEwan MacColl,Pete Stanley, andPeggy Seeger.[4]
It changed its name in the early 1980s to the Goldsmiths Tavern after the University.[4] It was the original venue ofVic Reeves Big Night Out, a live comedy night he started there in 1986 before moving it to theAlbany Empire in 1988, and also where Reeves met future comedy partnerBob Mortimer.[5][6]
Whilst generally attracting a mixed clientele, it held gay nights in the 1980s and was considered anLGBTQ friendly space.[7][8]Paul O'Grady would also perform there.[9] A club night namedThe Gift, calling itself "The only London Gay Alternative Club", ran there in the mid-1980s and hosted bands such asThe Love Act andThe House of Love.[10]
Other bands to play the pub in the 1980s includedThe Ex,The Prisoners,The Dentists,Alternative TV andTest Department.[4]
In the 1990s the pub was a venue fortechno anddrum and bass nights, as well as punk andanarcho-punk bands. Acts to play there includedRadical Dance Faction,Back to the Planet,U.K. Subs, andSenser.Inner Terrestrials recorded a live album titledEscape From New Cross there in 1997.[4]
It closed following a big police raid, then re-opened as just a pub in 2003.[4]
The building is still a pub, though since 2011 it is once again named The New Cross House.[11][12][4]
