Wetherspoon has become well-known for restoring fascinating old buildings while turning them into pubs, from cinemas to theatres and courts to banks.
But the latest venue could be its most unusual to date, sitting on the site of one of London’s biggest ever fires and most popular haunted tourist attractions.
The new £2.75million Sun Wharf pub, which opens today, is located on Tooley Street outside London Bridge railway station on the former London Dungeon site.
It was also the site of Tooley Street Fire in 1861 – viewed as the biggest fire since the Great Fire of London – which started by spontaneous combustion at Cotton’s Wharf.
The Dungeon first opened in 1974 as a walk-through wax exhibition of dark history, before evolving over the decades ahead of being taken over by Merlin in 1992.
The attraction rebranded as an interactive horror experience about London’s history before moving to its current site at County Hall on the South Bank in 2013.
Since the Dungeon left London Bridge, the site has been vacant – but Wetherspoon has now completed a renovation after purchasing 48-50 Tooley Street.
The opening was preceded by a ‘cleansing séance’ exorcism last week by a medium who is said to have directed any lingering ghosts towards the South Bank.
The opening of the Sun Wharf in London was preceded by a ‘cleansing séance’ exorcism last week by a medium who is said to have directed any lingering ghosts towards the South Bank
The new £2.75million Sun Wharf pub, which opens today, is on Tooley Street in London Bridge
The new Sun Wharf pub has 4336 sq ft customer area with two entrances onto Tooley Street
In Victorian London, Tooley Street was a busy route in and out of the city where warehouses were packed with goods such as hemp, cotton, spices, tea and coffee.
In 1861, some 30,000 people gathered to watch the Tooley Street Fire which stretched from London Bridge to Custom House, with wharves filled with flammable goods.
Firefighters from all around the country spent two weeks extinguishing the blaze with the property damage estimated to have cost about £166million in today’s money.
At least six people died, including London Fire Engine Establishment superintendent James Braidwood who was killed when part of one warehouse collapsed on him.
Upon hearing of his death, Queen Victoria wrote in her diary: ‘Poor Mr Braidwood … had been killed…and the fire was still raging. It made one very sad’.
The fire is recorded to have consumed 20 warehouses containing 5,000 tons of rice, 10,000 barrels of tallow, 1,000 tons of hemp, 1,100 tons of jute, 3,000 tons of sugar and 18,000 bales of cotton, as well as large quantities of bacon, tea and spices.
The blaze is thought to have spread so quickly because firefighters could not get a water supply for nearly an hour because the River Thames being at low tide, and the iron fire doors which separated many of the storage rooms had been left open.
The London Dungeon interactive horror experience was located on Tooley Street until 2013
People take part in a ghost hunt at the London Dungeon at its former site on Tooley Street
Visitors go on a horror boat ride at the London Dungeon when it was located on Tooley Street
After being rebuilt, Tooley Street was also home to the popular Horse & Cart public house and its railway arches were occupied by importers and ‘provision agents’.
Their livelihoods depended on the huge produce warehouses – one of which was Hay’s Wharf, which is now Hay’s Galleria where restaurants and shops are located.
Two others – Fenning’s Wharf and Sun Wharf – were both replaced in 1984 by the huge No.1 London Bridge complex, with Sun Wharf now remembered in the pub’s name. During the 1980s redevelopment, a Bronze Age burial mound was unearthed.
The Sun Wharf will be open from 6.30am until 12.30am Monday to Saturday and 6.30am until 11.30pm on Sunday. Food will be served from opening until 11pm.
Children will be allowed when accompanied by an adult up until 9pm, and the pub is wheelchair accessible with a specially adapted toilet for people with disabilities.
The new pub has 4336 sq ft customer area with two entrances onto Tooley Street. It features existing brickwork throughout, with new carpet, flooring and lighting.
Historical photos and details of local history, as well as artwork and images of local scenes and characters of the area, have also been put on display inside.
The Tooley Street Fire of 1861 started by spontaneous combustion at Cotton’s Wharf
More than 30,000 people watched the 1861 Tooley Street Fire as it spread from London Bridge
Wetherspoon said its pub had created 100 new jobs and will be managed by Aurimas Aperavicius, who was previously the manager at its Ice Wharf venue in Camden.
He said the team were ‘looking forward to welcoming customers’, adding: ‘We are confident that the pub will be a great addition to London Bridge’s social scene.’
Wetherspoon is also opening another new pub in London today – The Sir Alexander Fleming near Paddington station; and then The Hykeham Manor in Lincoln tomorrow.
These will be followed by two more scheduled openings for 2025 – Sigered, King of Essex in Basildon on October 14; and The Chiltern in Beaconsfield on December 2.
A London Dungeon spokesperson said: ‘For nearly 40 years, our Tooley Street location terrified and entertained visitors with chilling tales of London’s dark history.
‘Our move to the South Bank has allowed us to expand our horrifying repertoire and make it one of the most infamous attractions in the capital.
‘Tooley Street can rest easy now as we’ve ensured that all the ghosts have traversed the Thames to the South Bank, where historic horrors of Victorian London await.’
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