Beloved 200-year-old London pub announces sudden closure as locals mourn 'real loss'

Beloved 200-year-old London pub announces sudden closure as locals mourn 'real loss' Newspoint | 2025-02-04T02:39:13+08:00

A beloved 200-year-old has suddenly closed its doors - leaving locals mourning a "real loss for the local community."

The iconic Ye Olde Swiss Cottage occupied a unique space in north west , bringing a one-of-a-kind burst of continental charm to busy Finchley Road. But on Saturday the pub decided to close its doors for the last time, bringing deep disappointment to loyal customers.

The decision was made by the pub's operators Samuel Smith's Brewery but the future of the sight remains unclear. Fans enjoyed their last pints at the pub in the moments before last orders were called. "You choose a pub with a different atmosphere - a lot of them are becoming like clones now," one customer told News. She continued: "It's so awful.

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"I run a monthly group for people with concerns about the at Swiss Cottage Community Centre which is a hope skip and jump from the Ye Olde Swiss Cottage. We are all shedding a tear."

Resident Tony Kay said: "When I moved into the area the pub used to be very full. It was a stop off for people going to Wembley to watch the football. Since then it's been very empty and a shadow of its former self. We hope it will be taken over as a pub again."

The only pub left on the road amid a number of similar closures is the nearby North Star. Joanne Scott, from the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) said the closure was a "real loss for the local community and for London."

She told : "There has been a pub on site for 200 years and there isn't many pubs in this area, so it is important to keep it as a pub." The landmark dates back to the 1830s and inspired the Swiss Cottage tube station name.

A CAMRA spokesperson added: "There had been a gabled building on the site called Lausanne Cottage said to have been used by Charles II as a hunting lodge and there may have been an earlier pub called the Swiss Tavern."

One member of staff, who did not want to be named, told the localoutlet: "As far as I know it's closeing and staff who work here will go to another site. The brewery made the decision, it is what it is." The has contacted Samuel Smith's Brewery for comment.