Gladstone Arms doesn’t merit listed status says Historic England

In August we reported on plans to knock down the Victorian pub and replace it with a 10-storey block of flats.

Since then the pub has been registered as an 'asset of community value' under the Localism Act.

The Walworth Society applied to have the pub assessed for inclusion on the national heritage list, but last week Historic England, which advises the Government on whether buildings should be listed, confirmed that the culture secretary had decided not to list the Glad.

In its advice to the secretary of state, Historic England said: "...it is acknowledged that the Gladstone Arms public house had local architectural and historic interest..." but found that the building's design is "derivative" and "lacks the innovation and architectural quality in a national context to merit listing".

Walworth Society chair Jeremy Leach told the SE1 website: "We were really disappointed that at a time when Historic England has just given listed building status to a number of inter-war pubs across the country that they did not recognise the architectural and cultural value of the Gladstone Arms as a major landmark in the Borough and a really popular and historic live music venue."