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Horns, The, Kennington

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Venue Type & Location

Tavern

Overview

  • Address: Corner of Kennington Road and Kennington Park Road, Lambeth, London. For a current map, Click Here.

  • Alternate Names: Green Man and Horns; Surrey Hotel and Tavern; Horn Public House and Assembly Rooms.

  • Audience Composition: As yet, the only information that has been found about patrons of the Horns in the mid-19th Century is the following description (by J. Ewing Ritchie) of participants in Discussion Clubs at venues of this sort. Ritchie writes: “there are many third and fourth-rate literary men - a class, I fear (I speak of the minors), the most braggart, lying, and needy under heaven - men who are going to do wonders, but who never do - whose success, if such a term may be applied to their career, arises simply from their power of brag, and from the possession of an enviable amount of self- esteem. Then there are briefless barristers, but too happy to have an opportunity of airing their dictionaries, and tradesmen, and clerks, all fancying that there is no need why they should hide their talents under a napkin” (reproduced on The Dictionary of Victorian London Website).

  • Performance Space Description: The Horns was a long-standing Lambeth tavern which, by at least 1826, had “a large assembly-room attached to it” (Allen, quoted in Sheppard, British History Online). Specific information about the nature of the performance space has not yet been found.

  • Typical Fare: In 1858, Ritchie noted that the Horns hosted a weekly Discussion Club during which individuals debated contemporary issues in a spirited (and rather drunken) fashion. By 1879, Charles Dickens Jr. included the venue amongst his list of places where benefit concerts were held. Finally, another description suggests that the tavern’s assembly room was “occasionally appropriated for Horticultural and Floral exhibitions; and also used for the delivery of lectures, both scientific and amusive” (Brayley, quoted in Sheppard, British History Online).

    • Performance History

  • A tavern seems to have existed on the Horns’ site as early as 1725. According to Sheppard, in the 18th Century, this building was the site of Manor Court meetings, “a focal point of activities in the neighbourhood, and must also have drawn much custom from the public meetings and executions which brought crowds to Kennington Common” (reproduced at British History Online).

  • But for a dark spell in the 1830s-50s, the venue retained its prosperity throughout much of the 19th Century.

  • The assembly room attached to the Horns was destroyed during WWII. The tavern itself was demolished in the 1960s. The Department of Social Security Offices now stand on the site (see image at right).

    Please see the 'Bibliographic Sources' link at right for a complete listing of materials (both primary and secondary) from which the above information was compiled.

    Beth Marquis

    • Troupes at Horns, The, Kennington

    Film Affiliated people Film Type # of event(s)
    Beyadere and Female Serenaders Bono, Minstrel Definite Beyadere and Female Serenaders
    Beyadere and Female Serenaders Jonia, Minstrel Definite Beyadere and Female Serenaders
    Beyadere and Female Serenaders Orinthia, Minstrel Definite Beyadere and Female Serenaders
    Beyadere and Female Serenaders Cleopatra, Minstrel Definite Beyadere and Female Serenaders
    Beyadere and Female Serenaders Alethea, Minstrel Definite Beyadere and Female Serenaders
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Dumbolton, James A. Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Pell, Gilbert W. Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Stanwood, Moody Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) White, W. Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Harrington, George Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48) Germon, Francis Minstrel Definite Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)

    Events at Horns, The, Kennington

    Event Date Venue Location Film
    Minstrel Show - London, London (city-county) Beyadere and Female Serenaders
    Minstrel Show - London, London (city-county) Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Minstrel Show - London, London (city-county) Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Minstrel Show - London, London (city-county) Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Minstrel Show - London, London (city-county) Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)
    Minstrel Show - London, London (city-county) Ethiopian Serenaders (1846-48)

    Bibliographic Sources

    View a list of abbreviations.

    • London: The Library Association, 1970
    • Entry on "Concerts".
    • Section on "Discussion Clubs".
    • (Under List of Minor Pleasure Gardens)