Coleherne, Earl's Court

{{Short description|Former gay pub in Earl's Court, London}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox building | name = Coleherne, Earls Court | native_name = | native_name_lang = | logo = | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = Pembroke, Earls Court, SW5 (7413737664).jpg | image_size = | image_alt =  | image_caption = Rebranded as ''The Pembroke'', 2011 | pushpin_relief = | former_names = | alternate_names = | etymology = | status = | cancelled = | topped_out = | building_type = | architectural_style = | classification = | location = | address = 261 Old Brompton Road, [[Earl's Court]], | location_city = [[London]] | location_country = [[England]] | coordinates = {{coord|51.4889|-0.1915|type:landmark_region:GB-KEC|display=title,inline}} | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 14 | map_caption = Location within Earl's Court, London | altitude = | current_tenants = | namesake = | groundbreaking_date = | construction_start_date = | construction_stop_date = | est_completion = | topped_out_date = | completion_date = | opened_date = | inauguration_date = | relocated_date = | renovation_date = | closing_date = | demolished_date = | cost = | ren_cost = | client = | owner = | landlord = | affiliation = | height = | architectural = | tip = | antenna_spire = | roof = | top_floor = | observatory = | diameter = | circumference = | weight = | other_dimensions = | structural_system = | material = | size = | floor_count = | floor_area = | elevator_count = | grounds_area = | architect = | architecture_firm = | developer = | engineer = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | main_contractor = | awards = | designations = | known_for = | ren_architect = | ren_firm = | ren_engineer = | ren_str_engineer = | ren_serv_engineer = | ren_civ_engineer = | ren_oth_designers = | ren_qty_surveyor = | ren_contractor = | ren_awards = | number_of_rooms = | parking = | website =  | embed = | embedded = | references = | footnotes = }} The '''Coleherne Arms 1866''' public house was a [[gay pub]] in west [[London]]. Located at 261 [[Old Brompton Road]], [[Earl's Court]], it was a well-known music venue from the 1950s, and a popular landmark [[Leather subculture|leather bar]] during the 1970s and 1980s. In 2008, it was rebranded as a [[gastropub]], The Pembroke.

==History== The Coleherne Arms 1866 (named after the Coleherne family) began life in 1866, at 261 [[Old Brompton Road]]. It had a long history of attracting a bohemian clientele before becoming known as a [[gay pub]]. A lifelong resident of [[Earl's Court Square]], Jennifer Ware, recollected as a child being taken there to Sunday lunch in the 1930s; at that time, [[Drag queen|drag entertainers]] performed after lunch had finished.

===Music and the Afro-Caribbean community=== For over three decades, The Coleherne was celebrated for its Sunday lunchtime music sessions,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Wilmer |first=Val | author-link=Val Wilmer | title=Sunday at The Coleherne |magazine=Flamingo | date=August 1964 | pages=23–25}}</ref> cutting across barriers of race, class, age and sexual orientation in a way unique in London.<ref name="mama">{{Cite book |last=Wilmer |first=Val |year=1989 |title=Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This |publisher=[[The Women's Press]] |pages=107, 167}}</ref> Starting with [[traditional jazz]] in the mid-1950s, followed by [[modern jazz]],<ref name="brilliant">{{Cite magazine |last=Wilmer |first=Val | date=February 2012 |title=Brilliant Corners: The Coleherne | magazine=[[Jazzwise]] |issue=160|page=9}}</ref> the seal was set in 1962 when pianist [[Russell Henderson]] arrived with two young students, fellow Trinidadians, to play their own brand of calypso-flavoured [[Latin jazz]].<ref name="russ">{{Cite news |last=Wilmer |first=Val |date=24 August 2015 |title=Russ Henderson obituary: Trinidad-born jazz pianist and leading figure in the steelband movement in Britain who helped set up the Notting Hill carnival | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/aug/24/russ-henderson| newspaper=[[The Guardian]] | access-date=26 February 2023 | quote=From 1962 Sunday lunchtimes at the Coleherne, an otherwise gay pub in Old Brompton Road, provided an exceptional opportunity for amateurs to sit in with him, backed by a plethora of percussionists, with figures as musically diverse as [[Joe Harriott]], [[Graham Bond]], [[John Surman]], [[Davey Graham]] and [[Philly Joe Jones]] taking their turn.}}</ref>

Henderson soon formed a regular trio with [[Stirling Betancourt]] on [[timbales]] and a succession of double-bassists. He created a Caribbean-oriented atmosphere and instituted what became one of London's most popular [[jam session|jam sessions]].<ref name="brilliant" /><ref name="gong">{{Cite magazine |last=Wilmer |first=Val|date=September–October 2006 | title=From the Pan to the Gong | magazine=JazzUK | issue=71 | pages=12–13}}</ref> He played solo piano on weekend evenings,<ref name="pubs" /> and, for the next 35 years, The Coleherne was the focus for dozens of musicians in search of a jam - much to the delight of brewers [[Charrington Brewery|Bass Charrington]].<ref>''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'', 22–28 June 1979, page 11, 'rumoured to be one of Bass-Charrington's most profitable outlets...'</ref> The 1969 ''Guide to London Pubs'' described how The Coleherne 'really comes into its own as a musical pub on Sunday mornings, with the appearance of a dynamic West Indian band'.<ref name="pubs">{{Cite book |author-last1=Green | author-first1=Martin | author-link=Martin Green (author) | author-last2=White | author-first2=Tony | title=The 1969 Guide to London Pubs | year=1968 | publisher=[[Sphere Books]]}}</ref> The rich rhythmic mix involved percussionists including Errol Phillip aka "Blocker",<ref name="mama" /> and double-bassists Brylo Ford, Irving Clement and [[David "Happy" Williams]], followed by Clyde Davies, who soon switched to electric bass guitar.<ref name="gong" />

International jazz figures such as [[Johnny Griffin]], [[Walter Davis Jr.]] and [[Philly Joe Jones]] contributed to this most democratic of jam-sessions, while locals included [[Eric Allandale]], [[Graham Bond]], [[Dave DeFries]], Malcolm Griffiths, Rannie Hart, [[Joe Harriott]], [[Shake Keane]], [[Mike Osborne]], [[Terri Quaye]], [[Ernest Ranglin]], [[John Surman]] and Olaf Vass.<ref name="mama" /><ref name="brilliant" /><ref name="gong" /><ref name="russ" /><ref name="cal">{{Cite magazine |last=Wilmer |first=Val| title=Calypso at The Coleherne | date=September 2000 | magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] | issue=82 | page=58}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Peabody |first=Dave | author-link=Dave Peabody| title=A Critical Eye | magazine=[[FRoots]] | date=July 2009 | issue=313 | pages=50–53 }}</ref> In the 1970s, the virtuoso folk guitarist [[Davey Graham]] was a regular.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Denyer | first=Ralph | title=Davey Graham | magazine=Guitar | issue=12 | date=July 1975 | volume=3 | pages=15–17}}</ref> Audiences included rock and pop musicians such as [[Eric Burdon]],<ref name="cal" /> [[Georgie Fame]] and [[Mick Jagger]],<ref name="cal" /> actors [[Norman Beaton]], [[Ram John Holder]], Danny "Pressure" Jackson, Horace James and Bari Jonson, poets [[Pete Brown]] and [[Michael Horovitz]], publisher [[Peter Owen (publisher)|Peter Owen]], and [[Lord Kitchener (calypsonian)|calypsonian Lord Kitchener]].

In 1966, Henderson, Betancourt and Max Cherrie were recruited from The Coleherne to play steel-drums for the children's event organised by social worker [[Rhaune Laslett]] that evolved into the first [[Notting Hill Carnival]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Blagrove | first1=Ishmahil Jr. |last2=Busby |first2=Margaret |author-link2=Margaret Busby | title=Carnival: A Photographic and Testimonial History of the Notting Hill Carnival | date=2014 | publisher=Rice N Peas}}</ref>

In 1973, The Coleherne's Sunday sessions were the subject of a documentary for the [[BBC Two]] television programme ''Full House'', directed by [[Horace Ové]] and transmitted on 3 February 1973.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Full House, BBC Two | date=3 February 1973 |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/bcd361e060214bffba3faf3efbc11a95 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805074237/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/bcd361e060214bffba3faf3efbc11a95 |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 August 2016 | quote=A special edition featuring the work of West Indian artists, writers, musicians and film-makers. Introduced by Joe Melia. Among the main events: ... Going to Sunday School: A filmed visit to 'The Coleherne' - a pub in Earls Court which every Sunday lunchtime turns Caribbean. West Indians from all over London come to meet socially and listen to the Kaiso (Calypso) music of Russell Henderson and his band and other musicians who drop in. (Radio Times People: page 5)|website=BBC Programme Index| access-date=27 February 2023}}</ref>

===Gay pub=== The Coleherne became a gay pub in the mid-1950s. Originally it was segregated into two bars, one for the straight crowd and one for the gay community at a time when homosexuality was illegal. In the 1970s it became a notorious [[Leather subculture|leather bar]], with blacked-out windows, attracting an international crowd including [[Freddie Mercury]], [[Kenny Everett]], [[Anthony Perkins]], [[Rupert Everett]], [[Ian McKellen]] and [[Derek Jarman]]. Leather men wearing [[chaps]] and leather jackets with key chains and [[Handkerchief code|colour-coded handkerchiefs]] formed the clientele, justifying its nickname of 'The Cloneherne'. The Coleherne was known internationally as a leather bar by 1965.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.cuirmale.nl/history/leatherbars.htm |title=Gay leather bars |website=cuirmale.nl |access-date=1 October 2014}}</ref> The gay community flourished in Earls Court<ref>{{citation |url=http://gingerman1963.wordpress.com/page/2/ |title="The Coleherne, Earl's Court, 1981" and "Summer 1981" |access-date=2013-05-22 |last=Burnside |first=Grant}}</ref> and many international tourists joined the locals.

It sought to lighten its image with a makeover in the mid-1990s to attract a wider clientele, but to no avail. In September 2008, it was purchased by Realpubs, underwent a major refurbishment and reopened as a [[gastropub]], The Pembroke. The Coleherne was reputed to be the oldest gay pub in London before reopening as the Pembroke; the title then fell to the King Edward VI in [[Islington]], which closed in 2011; then the Queen's Head in Chelsea which closed in 2016.<ref>{{citation |url=http://london.gaycities.com/bars/3506-queens-head |title=Queen's Head|website=GayCity |access-date=February 24, 2021}}</ref> The Markham Arms at 138 [[King's Road]], which closed in the early 1990s and is now a bank branch, was a gay pub on Saturdays only.

==Notable events== Coleherne pub-goers, angry at the politicisation of gay sex, lifestyle and position in society by the [[Gay Liberation Front]] (GLF), pelted passing parade-goers with bottles in 1972.<ref>Cook, Matt, et al., eds. (2007) ''A Gay History of Britain'', Oxford: Greenwood World, p. 186</ref>

Over the years, many police arrests were made for a range of offences, including [[obstruction of justice|obstruction]], [[soliciting]], [[importuning]], and the more serious [[conspiracy to corrupt public morals]], in the street outside the pub at night when customers left at closing time. These arrests were often just as a result of little more than gay men standing in the street talking to each other—despite the fact that many other non-gay pubs in the area used to have similar crowds at closing time, with no police action taken against them. There were several local street disturbances and demonstrations in the 1970s and 1980s as a result of continual, decades-long police harassment around the Coleherne.

In its latter years the pub was infamous as having been the stalking ground for three separate serial killers from the 1970s to the 1990s: [[Dennis Nilsen]], [[Michael Lupo]] and [[Colin Ireland]]. Ireland committed five murders in 1993, after making a [[New Year's resolution]] to become a serial killer. Although he later claimed to be straight, he picked up men at the Coleherne, whose [[Handkerchief code|colour-coded handkerchiefs]] indicated that they were into [[sadomasochism]] and passive. He accompanied his victims to their homes, where he restrained and then killed them.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

==Popular culture== American author [[Armistead Maupin]] included references to the Coleherne in his ''[[Tales of the City]]'' book ''[[Babycakes]]''.

<blockquote>He left as a clock was striking ten somewhere and walked several blocks past high-windowed brick buildings to a gay pub called the Coleherne. These were the leather boys, apparently. He ordered another gin and tonic and stood at the bulletin board reading announcements about Gay Tory meetings and 'jumble sales' to benefit deaf lesbians.</blockquote> <blockquote>When he returned to the horseshoe-shaped bar, the man across from him smiled broadly. He was a kid really, not more than eighteen or nineteen, and his skin was the same shade as the dark ale he was drinking. His hair was the startling part - soft brown ringlets that glinted with gold under the light, floating above his mischievous eyes like ... well, like the froth on his ale.<ref>{{citation |last1=Maupin |first1=Armistead |title=Babycakes |date=1988 |publisher=Black Swan Books |location=London |pages=146–149}}</ref></blockquote>

The pub is referred to in the lyrics of "Hanging Around" on the debut album ''[[Rattus Norvegicus (album)|Rattus Norvegicus]]'' by [[The Stranglers]].

{{cquote|I'm moving in the Coleherne :With the leather all around me And the sweat is getting steamy :But their eyes are on the ground They're just hanging around }}

The pub is the location of the main character's first visit to a gay bar/pub (set in 2002) in Paul Mendez' 2020 novel ''[[Rainbow Milk]]''.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Portal|LGBTQ}} *[https://www.thepembrokesw5.co.uk/ The Pembroke] website

[[Category:1866 establishments in England]] [[Category:Earls Court]] [[Category:Leather bars and clubs]] [[Category:Leather subculture]] [[Category:Pubs in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]