East End London The Hairy Bikers' Pubs That Built Britain

Pubs have been at the heart of Britain for hundreds of years.

Cheers, mucker!

-In city taverns...

-..And village inns...

..Landlords have pulled pints for locals, travellers

and, well, the odd king or two -

meself included.

Try and have a drink now!

LAUGHTER

But with 30 pubs closing every week,

our historic taverns need defending.

Step! Step!

We're heading out to discover amazing stories

linked to the nation's watering holes.

-Not far to go.

-How far?

-Oh, a couple of miles.

-What?!

From the Wars of the Roses...

..to shipbuilding on the Clyde...

we've ditched our bikes so that we can sample an ale or two.

Get in!

This is very good!

'So join us for...'

Today's historic pub crawl takes us to the East End of London

and the borough of Tower Hamlets.

It's bustling and bohemian, but it has a dark history.

In the 1960s, two shady characters ruled these mean streets

and its local boozers.

It wasn't long before everyone knew the names

of these infamous gangsters -

Reggie and Ronnie Kray.

Chicago had Al Capone.

New York had Lucky Luciano.

But London had double trouble - the Kray twins.

But they all made a killing out of booze.

1960s Britain was riding a wave of optimism

and Central London was in full swing.

But on the streets of London's East End, poverty was still rife,

which created the perfect breeding ground for criminal gangs.

Top of the pile were the Krays.

The twins grew up in Bethnal Green

and were often in trouble with the law.

Throughout the '60s, their gang The Firm wreaked havoc,

and pubs like the Blind Beggar in Whitechapel

were perfect castles for these gangster kings.

The Blind Beggar - one of London's most notorious rub-a-dubs.

It was the Kray brothers' haunt in the 1960s

and the scene of a particularly nasty affair.

-Do you fancy a beer then, Dave?

-Oh, pig's ear!

Are you going to keep this up all day?!

-Wotcha!

-Oh, Gawd!

The Blind Beggar was built in 1894

on the site of an old inn.

Named after a 13th-century knight who was blinded in battle

and forced to resort to begging,

the pub is infamous for its gruesome link to the Krays.

We're meeting criminologist Dr Ruth Penfold to find out why.

-Hello, Ruth.

-Hiya.

-Dave.

-Good to meet you.

-Ruth, hi, I'm Si. Nice to meet you.

-I've got the drinks in already.

-Oh, cheers!

-Ruth, do you think the Krays came here quite a lot?

They did, they used to come in here drinking.

This was their territory, this was their patch.

So, yeah, they were drinking in here.

So were they proper East Enders?

Oh, yes. Born in the area in 1933,

they grew up just round the corner in Valance Road.

This was their home.

Ruth, so...how did the Krays build their empire

in what, in essence, was a really kind of poor community, wasn't it?

Mm-hmm. They knew that if they wanted to have any level of success

they needed to sort of survive on the streets.

That involved actually starting to become businessmen.

-Right.

-They bought some pubs, they bought some clubs, snooker halls,

and it slowly built up and it was from these that they would

actually run their sort of protection rackets.

So it was very much a sort of legitimate business empire

with the sort of darkness underneath.

The Krays extorted protection money

from local businesses across the East End.

And if you didn't pay up, the consequences were swift and brutal.

So how come within the media, they rapidly became

what was possibly the most famous twins in the world?

The big part about the Krays is their twinness -

the oneness that they were.

They dressed the same, they were always together.

It kind of amplified their image.

They were special, and they really seemed to believe that specialness.

The grim thing is though underneath this, there is the dark side.

Yeah, because they were hurting people, seriously hurting people.

-Yeah, I know, I know.

-It's remarkable.

And it was this very pub that was the scene of a brutal crime.

It demonstrated the power the Krays wielded over the East End.

On the 9th of March, 1966,

Ronnie Kray walked into the busy pub

and shot dead rival gang member George Cornell.

-What we've got here is basically a crime scene.

-Right.

-We've got George Cornell, who was from the Richardson gang...

-Yeah.

He was sat around here.

In fact, I've got the photos and the crime report here for you.

And Ronnie Kray came in,

saw a rival gang member that he'd had fights with before.

There'd been rumours that he'd insulted Ronnie Kray.

Came in and he shot him.

That's the bloodstains on the floor.

So that's the end of... Ah, I see.

-So Cornell roughly was sat about here.

-Mm-hmm.

-Ronnie walked in, shot him...

-Yep.

Bloodstains on the floor, here.

Good grief!

The pub would almost certainly have been full of regulars

when the murder took place.

But when the police came looking for witnesses,

the silence was deafening.

It says here as well in the police report,

"Did not reveal any person who had actually witnessed the shooting.

"However, a large number of used glasses

"were found on the bar counter and tables in the saloon bar."

Now, I mean, there must have been witnesses.

I mean, did everybody just scarper?

Pretty much. They were frightened by what they had seen.

So what is it then that led Ronnie Kray to believe

that he could get away with cold-blooded murder

in broad daylight?

Ronnie really was believing in his own invincibility.

He believed he was untouchable - they both did.

And to an extent they were right.

There was a wall of silence that the police hit with this investigation.

It became a cold case.

That's the community just closing ranks, full stop.

Absolutely.

All across their East End manor,

the Krays revelled in their notoriety.

And we're still fascinated by the infamous twins today.

John Bennett takes visitors from all over the world on his East End

walking tours, and the Blind Beggar is an unmissable stop on the route.

It's probably the most famous pub in the East End, it's synonymous

with crime, and the East End and things like that.

Even A-list celebrities have come to hear about

the pub's gruesome history - and no, I don't mean us.

I believe Brad Pitt, Jerry Springer have been here,

probably amongst others.

So, you know, lots of people come in here from all the world

wanting to hear what has become a very notorious story over time.

-Hello, John. Dave. Pleased to meet you.

-Hello.

Hi, I'm Simon. Nice to meet you. How are you?

John, why do you think it is after all these years that people

are still fascinated with the Krays and the murder in this pub?

I don't suppose it's just the murder in the pub,

but, I mean, the Kray Twins themselves being twins and having

this very glamorous image, you know, regardless of what...

the fact that they were criminals and things like that,

you've got these two sides to them.

You know, people are fascinated by them because

no matter who you listen to, everyone's got a different story.

On one side - the two extremes - you've got people who say

they were lovely boys, you know, and they were kind to children

and old people, like Robin Hood figures, you know?

And on the other side you would have people who would say

they were terrifying, you know, they were evil and things like...

Capable of doing really, really awful things including the murder

in this pub in 1966.

So that's why they've become legendary, because no-one can really

agree on what's true, really, and what isn't, that's the main thing.

Do you think it's because of the strength of the image

that they managed to create for themselves?

It's managed to, you know, last decades,

long after they finished round here.

Yes, regardless of how many times they appeared in the newspapers

when they were in prison, they were sort of set in stone

really in the '60s - that's the image... You know, you don't

-think of them as the grey-haired men and all the rest of it.

-No.

That's the image they had - that sort of hard, cold, gangster image.

The Krays were out of control, and getting away with murder.

But The Blind Beggar killing would eventually come back to bite them.

-Well...

-You know, Si, it's not that long ago,

but it does seem to be part of a different world altogether.

Right, it's like... It was a world of saints and sinners, wasn't it?

Here, here's a bit of trivia for you, mate.

Right at this very spot in 1865,

William Booth stood right here,

who was the founder of the Salvation Army,

and gave a speech to the locals

to save their souls from the demon drink.

Well, do you know, it's a pity he wasn't there

to sort the Krays out, ain't it?

And there's some great yarns behind our pub signs, too.

Here's three of our East End faves.

Nice and gory for you!

The Bleeding Heart Tavern is home to a 17th-century murder mystery.

The story goes that the body of a young woman was found outside,

torn limb from limb, with her heart still pumping blood.

Bleargh!

Down the road, The Ten Bells rings alarm bells.

Two of Jack the Ripper's victims were supposedly stalked

in this very pub.

And close to Tower Hill is The Hung Drawn and Quartered,

where in medieval times traitors were, you've guessed it,

hung, drawn and quartered.

Back on the mean streets, we're still on the trail of the Krays.

The East End pubs were central to their criminal deeds,

and the locals knew to keep their mouths shut.

Ere, you fancy a ball and chalk? It'll keep us out of Barney Rubble.

If you keep that up, Myers, we're going to end up brown bread - dead.

-Here.

-What?

I don't wish to worry you, but there's a fellow in there

-following us in a Jag.

-Is there?

Oh, no, no, this is me lift! This is Bernie, associate of the Krays.

-I've two words to say to you.

-What?

Concrete wellies.

'Cool your jets, mucker, it's only Bernie -

'the Krays' former mechanic.'

Hi, Bernie! All right?

'The twins flaunted their wealth.'

-Oh, what a lovely motor!

-HE LAUGHS

'And especially loved flash cars.'

'Bernie Fineman is giving me the inside story.'

So, Bernie, how did you get to know the twins?

I was introduced to them when I was drinking one night

-in The Blind Beggar by a pal of mine called Jimmy Nunn.

-Right.

It was put to them that I was an honest guy.

I was only young - I was only 19,

but I was a good mechanic even at 19,

and they felt comfortable with me

and I used to repair all their cars for them.

Today's East End is nothing like it was in the '60s,

but Bernie, for one, is a bit nostalgic.

It's modernised completely.

In my old days people never had any money.

You never saw hundreds of cafes and, you know,

there was always a pub,

because a pub was a place where the family went.

The pubs were also at the heart of the Krays' criminal operations.

But some of their "business" was carried out in less cosy locations.

I want to show you where the boys sometimes used to hang out,

and one particular place where they would deal with due diligence

if you really upset them,

and they would either beat you up,

or maybe even worse.

These dimly lit railway arches were well-hidden from prying eyes.

-SI EXHALES

-This is one of them.

You wouldn't want to be left down here...

There never used to be lights down here,

-there was only ever one light which was lit up.

-Right.

Things used to go on here, illegal gambling clubs,

people taught a lesson.

People being taught a lesson meant a good hiding.

It is a fearsome place. I mean, you know, when you see it,

and you stand there, and you walk down past those arches, it...

I tell you something, I still get a shiver down my spine,

-there's something...

-Something not right.

There's something not quite right about it.

'I tell you what, Dave,

'you had to be a tough character to survive in the old East End.'

And for many it started here, at the Repton Boxing Club.

This is where Ronnie and Reggie first learned to use their fists.

Writer Jeff Edwards has come to the club to tell me more.

-Hello, Dave.

-Hello, nice to see you.

-Nice to meet you.

Some atmosphere this place has got, some history.

Hey, this is the most famous boxing club in Britain, I would think.

More champions out of this club than any other - hundreds of them.

500, I think, you know, in its history.

-And part of the club was the Kray twins.

-Well, they were very much.

In the 1940s, 1950s this was part of their growing-up world.

They were very young into boxing and this was just round the corner

from where they lived.

If they hadn't become gangsters,

do you think they could have made it as professional boxers?

Oh, yeah, they could have made it as pros.

They did turn pro for a little while, but of course the trouble was

that they also tended to get into fights and trouble

outside of the ring, and that...

Once they came to the attention of the police, they weren't able

to keep their, you know, professional boxing licences,

so really that scuppered their career.

But had they kept on the straight and narrow,

a lot of experts on boxing from that period

say they could have gone on to be champions, yeah.

The teenage Krays were gaining fearsome reputations

and using them to their advantage.

They were all street-fighters.

There were gangs round here then,

and there was a great tradition of fighting, you know,

in a docklands community. This was a tough place to grow up.

You had to fight. You know, if you couldn't fight

-then you wouldn't achieve a place in society - local society.

-Right.

So violence really, you know, was second nature to them.

Mmm. Well, the only kind punch I'm fond of

'is one you get, like, in a crystal bowl.'

'But, you know, I'm willing to give boxing a go.'

I'm going to fight like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

Put your dukes up!

'Weighing in at... Well, none of your business!'

'..it's Dave "the Rave" Myers.'

'They've trained countless champions here, and it's time for me

'and Gary to get ready to rumble!'

Over here, over here, Dave.

Mind me tash, me glasses.

Stick 'em up, away you go.

Take a step. Give yourself room.

Move round.

Not too far!

Get your hands up there, just up there.

One-two!

-Hup!

-Hup! Hup!

'Personally, I think I'd rather be in the pub.'

I bet Kingy's having an easier time,

sitting there in the back of his Jag.

Oi, come on! Less of that, let's go.

'It's not just a jaunt in a Jag, you know!'

Bernie's taking me to the Krays' favourite cafe.

Pellicci's has been going for over 100 years.

-Oh, wow. So this is it, Bernie?

-That's it, my son.

Where did they used to sit?

-Generally they were in the corner...

-So they could see the door!

-So they could see the door.

-Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, used to come here about five, six o'clock in the morning,

because they'd always open early.

And what's the best thing you want to do after you've been

out on the booze all night or you've been doing business?

-A big fry-up.

-Great.

-And you can't get any better than Pellicci's.

-Right, well, you're on.

I tell you what, how about a bacon and egg sandwich?

-I know...

-I'm in love!

-Oh, right!

Let's have one, let's have one.

'Anna's a third-generation Pellicci and has worked here all her life.'

How long has the cafe been in the family?

Oh, God, just over 100 years.

My grandparents, those two on the wall...

-You don't look that old!

-I'm doing good for me age.

You're doing well.

-I've had, I've had a few shots.

-I'm going to get a slap in a minute.

-But my grandparents started it over 100 years ago.

-Fantastic.

-My dad, God rest him...

-You don't remember me, do you?

No, I don't. My dad would remember you.

Obviously, my dad's not here but...

I used to be Ronnie and Reggie's mechanic.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-I remember...

Ronnie and Reggie, they were already on holiday

-when I was born but...

-I used to come here with a few of the guys -

-a guy called Jimmy Nunn...

-SI LAUGHS

She's just gone, "Ronnie and Reggie, they were already on holiday,"

which meant they were in the nick.

Proper East End, this. Brilliant.

-Thank you, my darling. God bless you.

-No, no, that's for the tip.

-Please, young man, please. Thank you very much.

-Bye-bye, sweetheart.

Nice to see you, sir. All the best. Lovely to meet you, young man.

Say hello to your other skinny mate, won't you?

Whoa, I can't believe this, Kingy!

I'm sweating buckets in the boxing ring and there you are

tucking into a bacon sarnie.

I know I'm supposed to be on a diet, and it's a bacon and egg sandwich,

but I've got to eat, haven't I,

in Pellicci's, where the Kray twins ate?

Pellicci's has a band of loyal customers.

And the same can be said of traditional East End pubs.

They'd be nothing without their passionate punters.

So let's meet an East End local who loves his local.

You'll find The Lord Cardigan in the East End district of Bow.

Ray Gipson has been coming to this 19th-century boozer for years.

And he's ever so fond of it.

-All right, Ray?

-Right, yeah, thank you.

Pubs have always been my community centre,

and all my life it's where I've met all my friends.

There was a time when there was a pub

on pretty much every corner around here.

But Ray's seen 90 East End boozers close

in the last three years alone.

A lot of people don't realise what we're letting go.

They don't realise it's part of our heritage.

This pub, this little pub The Lord Cardigan, brings people together.

When I first started coming into the pubs

it was the place you went for everything.

I can remember most of the publicans in the 1950s and '60s,

when I was a young man, if you wanted your passport signed,

they was the only people who could do it.

You went to see the publican

because they was upright and just.

Ray and his mates, who've nicknamed themselves The Geezers,

are campaigning to keep their boozers open...

420.

..and traditions like East End darts alive.

It's played on a board where all the numbers are divisible by five.

Certainly makes the maths easier after a few pints!

If Ray and The Geezers are anything to go by,

the heritage of East End pubs are in safe hands for now.

I don't believe it, Tone.

'Back on our Krays pub tour, we're right in the heart

'of their manor, where it all began.'

And we're heading to a pub where ultimately

it all came crashing down.

The Krays, they didn't stray far from home, did they, Kingy?

No, mate, they didn't. Look, over there, Vallance Road

is where they used to live, and here is their primary school.

DAVE EXHALES

I wouldn't like to have been one of their teachers.

No, I know what you mean. And here, believe it or not, is their local.

-Oh, shall we?

-I think so.

The Carpenter's Arms is closely linked to an incident

that would eventually lead to the Krays' undoing.

They'd been arrested a number of times,

but the police were finding it hard to make anything stick.

-Thank you, sir.

-Cheers, gents.

-Cheers.

Former defence lawyer James Morton has come to tell us

how they were finally brought to justice.

So, James, what would a...

What would a typical night out with the Krays be like?

These pubs round here would be sort of two-roomed,

with the saloon bar, the public bar.

They would occupy the saloon bar,

and it would be full of Kray supporters, friends, hangers-on,

and it wouldn't be the sort of place

where outsiders would want to muscle in at all.

So, James, you started life as a defence lawyer.

Yeah, I was a defence lawyer and just about the time the Krays

were coming to the end was when I started, I qualified.

What was the inside gossip in the chambers of barristers

and lawyers at the time?

Well, the inside gossip was that they thought they were untouchable.

People would say that if you went in a police station

to make a statement about the Krays, by the time you came out

the Krays would have a copy of your statement.

They had a great in with certain police.

The Krays couldn't stay untouchable forever.

In October 1967, a brutal encounter with former associate

Jack "The Hat" McVitie was to be the beginning of the end.

They were in here, in fact, one Saturday night

at the end of October.

Ronnie and Reggie somehow had a bit of a quarrel

and the mood totally changed.

Ronnie... Reggie says, "I'm now going to have a party,

"we're all going off to Evering Road."

Two people were sent off to find and get McVitie

to come to the "party".

Another person was sent to bring a gun.

McVitie comes down, sort of dancing down the stairs

thinking he's actually going to a party and saying,

-"Where's the women? Where's the women?"

-Mm-hmm.

And Reggie tries to shoot him.

The gun sticks and doesn't fire properly,

and Reggie takes a knife to him.

McVitie tried to escape through a window

and was pulled back and stabbed to death.

In typical Kray style, Reggie's grudge against Jack The Hat

meant no mercy.

The end result - cold-blooded murder.

So they'd got to a point where they were completely out of control.

Yes, I think that's right. They were absolutely out of control,

By 19 - what would it be? - '67,

they thought they were God.

It seems to me now that going out for a pint in a pub round here

-was risky business.

-Well, I think it was, yes.

You had to choose your pub and you had to very careful

-who you looked at and what you said.

-Yes.

-Well, I'm glad it's a bit more friendly now.

-Same here.

-ALL:

-Cheers.

Just seven months later, in May 1968,

the police conducted a dawn raid on a high-rise flat

belonging to the Krays' mum Violet.

The twins were in bed sleeping

and were arrested on suspicion of several crimes.

Witnesses were persuaded to testify,

and the twins were at last convicted of the killing of Jack the Hat

and the Blind Beggar murder of George Cornell.

They spent the rest of their lives in jail.

Ronnie died in 1995.

Thousands lined the streets of the East End for his funeral cortege.

Reggie died five years later.

He too had an extravagant sendoff.

The final chapter of this story lies with Gary Driscoll,

who's been singing in East End pubs for over 20 years.

-Hello, Gary.

-Hello, you all right?

-Nice to see you.

Happy to see you, yeah.

'15 years ago, he got a booking for a rather unconventional gig.'

Did you sing at the wake of Reggie Kray?

That's correct, yeah, yeah. It was about 2000, it was, yeah.

So how did that come about?

Well, I was living in the area, in Bethnal Green here,

and I was always singing in the local pubs, you know?

And I got a call one day from a friend of mine, the Governor,

and he said, "Look," he said. "What you doing Thursday night?"

or whatever it was. And I said... Thursday afternoon. I said,

"Nothing," He said, "Do you want to sing at a funeral?"

And I said, "That's unusual, isn't it?"

"Do they really want a crooner at a funeral?"

He said, "It's at the wake." And I said, "Anybody I know?"

And he said, "Reggie Kray." And I went, "All right, OK..."

I said, "I'll have a think about that." I said, "All right, then,

"let's do it." You know? So I went along and, yeah,

it was like... It was mobbed with,

well, gangsters, really, I would say.

So what's the connection with the East End and crooning then?

-What's... What is it?

-I think really, I would say...

Years ago, like, every pub in the East End...

I think most of London would have a joanna in the corner, you know?

And it's easy to do the crooning songs with a piano.

-I think that's really where it...

-That's the tradition.

-Yeah.

There's a lot of people brought up on that, and they think of their...

A lot of them think, like... They ask me, even the younger guys

say, "Can you do this song, can you do that song?"

"It reminds me of my grandad, reminds me of my dad."

So it's still there, you know? They still like the old songs.

-It's still there in the pubs?

-That's right. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

'Reggie's friends asked Gary to sing a Frank Sinatra classic

'for the funeral, and we're hoping for a repeat performance.'

-Oh, Gary, could you just give us a treat?

-Go on!

Just a few bars of My Way.

-Right, OK, I'll give it a go.

-Got to join in, mind, right?

-If know the words.

-Yeah, please do, yeah.

-Come on.

# And now the end is near

# And so I face the final curtain

# My friend, I'll say it clear

# I'll state my case of which I'm certain

# I've lived a life that's full

# I've travelled each and every highway

# And more, much more than this

# I did it my way. #

CHEERING

Cheers! Thank you!

-Cheers.

-Cheers, thanks for coming. Beautiful singing.

MUSIC: My Way by Shane MacGowan

The Krays carried out some of their most evil deeds from East End pubs.

MUSIC: My Way by Shane MacGowan

But the East End's got more to offer

than just gangsters and great boozers.

You're telling me - it's even got its own rhyming slang.

COCKNEY ACCENT: Ere, this ain't a bad drop, this local stuff, is it?

Right, smarty-pants, you've been doing my loaf in

all day with your mockney-cockney accent.

Here's a bit of trivia for you.

When was the first literary reference to the word cock-ee-nee?

Ain't got a scooby.

SI SIGHS

It was in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

-Ooh! Now look who's a little smarty-pants, then!

-Get off!