The Goat, Kensington

Coordinates: 51°30′08″N 0°11′16″W / 51.5022°N 0.1877°W / 51.5022; -0.1877
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Goat, Kensington
The Goat Tavern, Kensington, London
The Goat is located in Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The Goat
The Goat
The Goat is located in Greater London
The Goat
The Goat
General information
Address3a Kensington High Street
Town or cityLondon
CountryEngland
Coordinates51°30′08″N 0°11′16″W / 51.5022°N 0.1877°W / 51.5022; -0.1877
Construction started1695

The Goat is a public house in Kensington, London, at 3a

John George Haigh
, the "Acid Bath Murderer", met his first victim.

History

The Goat is the oldest remaining pub on Kensington High Street, being constructed in 1695. The area had become a regular east–west route when King William built

pub sign was painted by the Beggarstaffs, who had their studio in Kensington at the time.[5] This endured into the twentieth century and impressed the local art aficiando Oliver Brown.[5]

John George Haigh, the "Acid Bath Murderer"

In 1944, the English serial killer

John George Haigh, the "Acid Bath Murderer", had a chance meeting in the Goat with William McSwann, a wealthy owner of amusement arcades, for whom he had worked as a chauffeur in 1936, before spending time in prison for fraud.[6]

They met at The Goat again at about 6pm on 9 September, when they had some glasses of wine and a meal, after which Haigh enticed McSwann to his workshop nearby at 79 Gloucester Road

sulphuric acid.[8]
Haigh went on to kill McSwann's parents almost a year later, and dissolved their corpses in sulphuric acid elsewhere, before assuming McSwann's identity and selling all of his parents' properties.

Secret tunnels to Kensington Palace

There are many rumours of tunnels linking the pub to Kensington Palace, which it overlooks, and although there are extensive vaults under the road, and perhaps tunnels into the grounds, no tunnel to the palace itself has yet been found.[3]

Present day

In 2016, the pub was owned by the Taylor Walker pub chain.[9] It is now called the Goat Tavern and part of the Greene King pub chain.[10]

Sign

  • The pub's sign in 2016
    The pub's sign in 2016

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7181-9204-4
    .
  2. ^ a b Faulkner, Thomas (1820), History and antiquities of Kensington, p. 249
  3. ^
    ISBN 9781905286164
    .
  4. ^ "Kensington High Street, south side: Kensington Court to Wright's Lane | British History Online". British-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  5. ^
    ISBN 9780712620796
  6. ISBN 978-1-84162-394-8
    .
  7. ISBN 978-1-4090-5224-1
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0-7509-6333-6
    .
  9. ^ "Goat in Kensington". Taylor-walker.co.uk. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Goat Tavern". Green King. Retrieved 13 September 2022.

External links

Official website

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