The Spotted Dog: A late 15th or early 16th century pub

Nestled at 212 Upton Lane, Forest Gate, London, The Spotted Dog dates back to the late 15th or early 16th century. According to historian Leopold Wagner’s 1921 book A New Book About London, it was thought to once have been a hunting lodge for King Henry VIII, who apparently 'took up the hounds here at Upton' about a mile from the toll-gate while chasing in the Essex forest. Wagner also claimed that the King even purchased the nearby Hamfrith Wood to facilitate his love of hunting.

Mr Wagner provides some intriguing details in support of his account stating that what became the Spotted Dog was at the time the residence of Henry's Master of the Hounds, who was granted the privilege of taking personal profit for refreshing travellers passing that way. Until the Great War, the Spotted Dog had its license direct from the Crown, according to Wagner. The pub bears a large painting on the west wall of the public bar, which features the arms of the City Corporation and the date of 1603, said to commemorate meetings of merchant princes for eight years continuously while an earlier plague carried off souls.

The Spotted Dog has been closed since June 2004 and is in a state of serious disrepair. In 2009, the London Fire Brigade issued a notice, declaring the pub a dangerous structure. In 2014, a campaign group called Save the Spotted Dog campaigned for its restoration or alternative community use, with local MPs and Newham Council backing the campaign. In 2020, the council approved plans to renovate the pub and build a 68-room hotel next door.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons