Stone birds perch atop the Two Eagles House in South London. They have long curved necks like vultures, but presumably they are eagles. From way down at street level, it is hard to tell. And in any case, there are four of them.
Twenty-three years ago I lived and worked here, pulling blue-collar pints for room and board while working at another pub over in Piccadilly to earn travel money for a trip across the Continent. Not long after I left, the Two Eagles closed down and the building was sold for flats. I knew this, but I wanted to visit anyway. So last week I took the Bakerloo Line to its dungeon terminus at Elephant and Castle, and walked back toward my old home on 27 Austral Street.
Just one block shy, I worried that perhaps I was lost. That I might have misremembered the way to 27 Austral Street. So I stopped into a corner store to ask the clerk if he knew where the old Two Eagles was. He was a young immigrant and had never even heard of a place called the Two Eagles. I continued to the end of the block and came upon the familiar building rising up in the late Sunday darkness. Complete with “Two Eagles House” in large lettering. The clerk will never know what he missed.
I stood outside the old building for a while, trying to photograph it in the dark. Trying not to attract undue attention from the neighbors. There was a light was on in my old bedroom on the top floor, but the building was mostly vacant, with flats still available. Hanging in a window next door, a bright poster celebrated Eid, the end of Ramadan. Not likely pub patrons, I thought.
One block onward I came to an open pub, but they didn’t have traditional English ales and the few people inside were far too young to remember the Two Eagles. So I moved on to the Three Stags, where the bartender allowed me one post-closing-bell pint of ale. It was a chance to sit and meditate about the Two Eagles and its long-gone patrons and my lost youth. Crap like that.
It occurred to me that this bartender with his two-foot dreadlocks was about the same age I had been when as a young college student, I worked in the same neighborhood, pulling pints of bitter so that I could see Europe. Maybe he was doing the that too. Nostalgia. “I used to work in pub just around the corner there,” I offered. “The Two Eagles.” He stopped cleaning long enough to answer: “The two what?”
So the bartender at the Three Stags and the young people in the pub nearby and the clerk at the store a block from Austral Street and the neighbor celebrating Eid not ten steps from where a pubic house operated between 1809 and the early 1990s, they do not remember the Two Eagles.
But I do. And this is a little of what they missed:
The Proprietor, who confused me when offering me a job by calling himself Joanne. I later realized that he and his wife were Joe and Ann. He believed that it was bad luck for two people to be on the same flight of stairs at the same time, which in a four-story building will cause an occasional traffic jam.
The Proprietress, Ann, who lovingly created the sturdiest of English meals as my board for nearly four months without once changing the oil in the deep fryer. Her son suffered from cystic fibrosis. Her daughter taught me to watch a regular patron whose abdominal hernia grew visibly throughout each night of drinking.
Barry, the master cellarman, who told me matter-of-factly that dogs don’t trust black people: “It’s like they know something.” His assistant, who was my age, believed that the BBC was trying to cover up the truth about spontaneous combustion. Some people just erupt in flames.
The Friend of Ned, whose name I cannot remember, but who I do remember was especially cheap. He could not stand to see any of his money invested in a proper head of Guinness—that would be less alcohol in the glass. So for every pint poured for him, he would stare distrustfully and coach, “Just like that, lad. A little more. Just like that, right up to the top.” Until every hint of froth had spilled over the edge and he had a perfectly flat top for a perfectly flat Guinness.
Eddie, who Joe banned from the pub during my first week of work because he was an alcoholic. For three weeks after that, Eddie’s friends boycotted the Two Eagles until the proprietor relented. The Two Eagles needed business as much as Eddie needed his health. So Eddie and his friends returned, and all was well again. Eddie made me a cassette tape of his favorite American jazz so that I would better appreciate my own culture.
Jimmy, who in his 80s was completely tone deaf. But he had once been a marvelous singer. Eddie and his friends waited until Jimmy had downed enough sherry to lose his better judgment, and then they would demand that he sing. Then Jimmy would stand up and howl, looking up toward the ceiling with eyes half closed, glass of sherry still in hand. During each performance, his so-called friends would laugh and slap their knees because the singing was so awful. But for those few minutes every night, the voice in Jimmy’s head was as beautiful as the music in his heart. And if he knew that his neighbors were laughing at him, he never let on.
Sidney and Aimée Bloxam outside the Two Eagles Pub, September 1919.
Postscript
Many thanks to Lawrence Pearse for sharing this photo of Aimée and Sidney Bloxam standing in front of the Two Eagles in 1919. Lawrence writes:
The couple are Sidney Bloxam (born 1898) and his French wife Aimée Bloxam (born 1900, maiden name Bertin); Sidney was serving at the time in the RAF as a Leading Aircraftsman. He was my mother’s uncle, and thus my grand uncle. The photo is dated to September 1919. Sidney and Aimée lived opposite the pub at 6 Austral Street with his parents and one of his sisters and her husband. You can see a picture of their house (now divided into nrs 6a and 6b) on Google Street View.
If you enlarge the photo on screen, you can see the name Austral Street above the pub. I would love to know what the main sign on the pub read. My guess is: [Two Eagle]s. Importer of the [finest wines/whiskies/ales?]. In the window there is an advert for what I take to be [Bu]chanan’s [malt whis]kies. There is a listing on the original publicans of the Two Eagles on line. The 1911 census shows Edward Phillips, a Somerset-born man, as the licenced victualler.I have always been struck by the direction of their shadows, and their length, which seems to indicate that the photo was taken late on a very sunny day, as they are looking towards the north west. London would still have been on daylight saving time in September.
Best regards
Lawrence
Searching for Yoldash 
Hi Paul,
Just to add to your memories of the Two Eagles…we actually own the Ground Floor Flat and moved in 11 years ago and loved living there! A year after we had moved in we were watching a scary movie on TV when someone banged on the door around midnight. My husband tentatively opened the door only to find a rather drunk young woman who had remembered it was a pub and thought it was still open…Turned out, it was her first night out since having a baby and I think she got a bit carried away with herself and ended up not having a clue where she was! We had to call her boyfriend and get him to pick her up. We of course took care of her, gave her a pint of water, which she downed in one to try and sober her up and then replied – ‘ Thanks so much, I love Vodka!’
Anyway, glad you remember our home which holds many fond memories for us too. We had our first child there – a now bright and vivacious 7 year old.
Cheers to the Two Eagles Pub, Kennington
Owner of the ground floor flat – Jules Heaton x
Hi Jules,
It’s wonderful to hear from you. Funny story (well, sadly funny) about the new mother at the door. Here are two photos taken from my old upstairs window of the G.H. Harris Bakeries Company across the street, back in 1989. http://wp.me/aErTV-vH. I always liked the random underlining of words for emphasis.
More trivia: A few years ago while I was looking for information about the Two Eagles online, I discovered that parts of the video for “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners was filmed right there on Austral Street. I’m sure you already knew this, but no one mentioned it to me when I lived there, even though the video was popular at least in the States.
Even more trivia: It looks like the building across the street took a direct hit during the Blitz (check out the map here: http://bit.ly/Vaw5QX). Again, I’m sure you know all this, but it’s interesting to me. Maybe next time I’m in the city I’ll knock on the door. But definitely not at midnight.
Paul
Hello all
I have no direct connection with the Two Eagles, but my great grandmother and other relatives used to live opposite at nr 6 Austral Street, and I have a photo of my grand uncle and his wife standing outside the pub in September 1919. I would be happy to share that with any of you if there is any interest.
Lawrence
I would love to see it.
Oh wow I remember this Bakery! You may have had the same room that I did at the Two Eagles! My room was on the top floor facing north and I had a corner Fireplace! And I loved the smell of the bread baking in that Bakery in the morning, the smell was amazing! When I worked and lived at the Two Eagles they made a WWII era movie in the square, I have pictures of that. They said it was one of the few neighborhoods that survived the Blitz in WWII so it had a lot of surviving period architecture!
I worked at the two eagles for a couple of months as well, back in 1993. Thanks for the blog brought back some memories. In the end Barry accused me if stealing, which was bullshit, and joe punted me. I think of the old place every time I hear “come on Eileen”..
Hello all
I have no direct connection with the Two Eagles, but my great grandmother and other relatives used to live opposite at nr 6 Austral Street, and I have a photo of my grand uncle and his wife standing outside the pub in September 1919. I would be happy to share that with any of you if there is any interest.
Lawrence
How do I add a photo on here? I only have it in my personal files.
Hi Lawrence, I have added your photo and description directly to the end of the post. It is really a wonderful photograph and a lovely couple. Thanks for sharing.
There was an aluminum pool cue in the front bar. It’s mine and I want it back.
Nice article. Any idea what became of Joe and Ann?
Love the aluminum pool cue. I did not keep in touch with Joe and Ann, unfortunately.
What memories! I work at the Imperial War Museum in the building just across the street. I remember the old bakers, who did a great sausage sandwich, and I often had a pint in the Two Eagles. We used to pop across at lunchtimes for egg, beans and chips. I remember Barry and an old regular we christened Salvador Dali on account of his unusual moustache. Seems a lifetime ago now…
Ian
Hi Paul
I’m sure we must have met as I was drinking in the Two Eagles at this time. I lived and still do live in St. Mary’s Walk, just around the corner from the pub. Joe and Ann retired and moved to Streatham, but unfortunately Joe passed away a few years later. I saw Ann about three years ago and she looks exactly the same, doesn’t seem to have aged at all. The pub ran for a few years after their retirement and was then sold to developers.
Eddie, the guy you mentioned as being barred also passed away some years back too.
I was part of the crowd who stopped drinking there as a protest when Joe barred Eddie. Good to remember those days!
I remember Joe and Anne Greeley well, I worked at the Two Eagles for a year back in 1991-1992. I also remember Eddie, if it is the same Eddie they called Eddie “The Wee Man” Miller. he was from Scotland and I believe worked for Shell or BP for a long while. I went to his house a few times for some “late night parties. I worked at the Two Eagles three shifts a week in exchange for my room and board as I was going to Uni in London at that time.
Lots of wonderful stories and characters that I met while working there. Great Memories!
I think I have some pics of this pub
would love to see them
What an interesting blog 😉
Hi, I actually stayed there in 1983-4 for a week when I was 3 or 4. Anne is my aunt and is still full of life. Probably my first memories away from home in Ireland, those staircases seemed to go on forever and there were loads of elastic bands to play with in a little hallway table on the last floor.
An important historical note: the video for Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ Come On Eileen was partially both down the road at Hayles Street corner shop and at the junction of Austral and Brook Street (circa 1:21 where you can see the Eagles in the background ) and indeed those famous eagles about 10 seconds later.
Not sure why I just looked up info on Two Eagles just now but I worked there as well for rent. I was there the fall of 1996. A couple had been in charge and left weeks after I arrived. An English Jamaican man named Donald bought it. I’m sad to hear it has been sold since.
I’ve just come upon this and it is extremely interesting to me as the landlord in the 1890s to 1910s, Edward Phillips, was my great grandfather. My grandfather Eric Phillips was born in the Two Eagles in 1892. They must have known the Bloxham family (in Lawrence’s photo).
I have a lovely photo of a group dressed up in their best clothes setting off from outside the pub on top of a carriage with four horses. Sadly I have no idea when this was taken or what was the special occasion. It looks like late 1800s /early 1900s. However, it almost answers the question (above) about what the big sign on the building said – my photo shows (in the same lettering) the words ‘Brands & Blends of Wines & Spirits’.
I can email the photo if you let me know where. In the pic, Edward Phillips is standing behind the horses wearing a straw boater, and his wife Laetitia (my gt grandmother) is on the top of the carriage nearest the photographer.
Pat Phillips
Hi Pat, I just discovered your contribution to the Two Eagles Pub article from 2018. If you still have the photo to send me, I will post it.
Hi,
I worked at The Two Eagles in 92-93. Good times. Had no idea the place closed. I wonder whatever happened to Eddie. Thanks for the walk down memory lane. I have very fond memories of my time there.
Julie in Ohio
Julia,
I too worked at the Two Eagles in 91-92 and I live in Ohio now!
These people are all childhood memories for me.
My mum,dad and brothers drinking in the two eagles while I was in the corner, totally oblivious with other neighbourhood children. Loved every minute.
We bought one of the vacant flats 18 years ago and love it. Thanks for your memories.
I lived and worked at Two Eagles sept 1996. It was run by a couple who left halfway through my stay. A gentleman who was originally from Jamaica bought the place. His name is Donald. I had such a great time there.
I’m researching the history of the building on Austral Street which is currently owned by the Imperial War Museums and lately been leased out as commercial studio offices.
If anyone has any memories or information about the building, whether, as an IWM archive and staff office building, a hospital or, even, in its first use as a girls orphanage, opened by Charlotte Sharman and completed in 1884, please do get in touch.
My Aunt Ann And Husband Joe Greally ran this pun from the 1960s until it closed and was converted into flats .I absolutely loved visiting this pub and helping out .My aunt and uncle were originally from Ireland and we loved coming here seeing my cousins Michael (RIP )and Lesley xx
I’m Lesley, Annie and Joes daughter.
We left the pub in the 90’s when my parents retired. My father died in 2004 from a respiratory condition. My brother died in 2009 after lung transplant. I moved to Spanish point, Ireland with my mum in 2019. She has Lewy body dementia. She still the same character, but we do live in a strange world of fantasy. She thinks we live back in the Two eagles sometimes.
The pub was a unique home. We met many wonderful people from all walks of life. Many films were made, including death wish three, The krays and many more. There were many period films made, especially in the 70’s snd 80’s. I have many memories of props and actors. Scandal (John Hurt)was made and the actors sat up in the small bar all night with my dad and I. The Dexys midnight runners used the club room to change. The building on austral street was all saints hospital for years (psychiatric) . I remember leana zavaroni used to come in for lunch as she was an inpatient from Allsaints.