Site of The Cowshed pub (London)

 mixed-used building  Add category

A distinctive Truman pub at the top end of Ladbroke Grove originally known as the The Admiral Blake. The pub was officially renamed The Cowshed, which was the unofficial nickname for the pub by it's locals. Ladbroke Grove was one of the main drovers’ routes into London and there was originally a cow shed here or hereabouts, possibly relating to the nearby Portobello Farm. There remains an iron sign-bracket on the Ladbroke Grove side, which bares the original ‘TRUMAN’ lettering.
The exterior to The Admiral Blake was also used in the early noughties pub-based sitcom, Time Gentlemen Please, written by Richard Herring and Al Murray. One of the long running jokes in the fictional series, is that the pub's name on the exterior of the building is so badly worn-out that no one remembers what it was, including the brewery. So everyone simply referrers to it as "the pub by the chemical works". The name of the The Admiral Blake can be seen faintly on exterior shots of the pub from the first series of the show, but it's severely weathered and worn-out. The Gov renames the pub the Cows Head after Ms. Jackson (AKA Cow), but he makes a spelling mistake and the sign is painted The Cowshed.
The real pub is said to have a good atmosphere and has two TVs for watching sport. Like the TV series the interior is dated and worn-out, but the recent new owners plan to renovate the pub and appeal to a wider age group.
This pub was demolished in August 2012. Replaces by 9 flats with mixed use on the ground floor.