Blind Beggar Pub

Established in 1894, this is a typical old Victorian pub, though the interiors have been given something of a makeover. It's the history here that is truly fascinating. To start with, it was opened on the site of the old Mile End Toll Gate, where Jack the Ripper committed a lot of his crimes. Later on, in the gangland days of the 1960s, Ronnie Kray infamously walked into the pub and shot George Cornell dead with a 9MM Mauser. The record playing on the juke box at the time, which also got hit by a bullet, was coincidentally The Walker Brothers' 'The Sun Ain't gonna shine anymore.' This might have been the most famous murder, but in 1904 a man called Wallis, a member of the 'Blind Beggar Gang' a group of notorious pickpockets stabbed a man in the eye too. The pub today has a happier mix of locals and students. The main appeal is the large beer garden with koi ponds, fairy lights, parasols and heaters in winter.