In High Street South, East Ham, the White Horse Hotel was a victim twice in four days of Hitler’s flying bombs. The first bomb fell on June 23, 1944, in nearby Flanders Road. Six people were killed, six seriously injured, and many more injured. 2,135 houses were damaged, over 100 of them being either demolished or wrecked.
The White Horse Hotel was a historic pub and hotel located in High Street South, East Ham, London. It was established in 1769 and was known for its elegant architecture and spacious rooms. The hotel was also a popular venue for social events, such as weddings, dances, and concerts.
However, the hotel’s fate changed dramatically during World War Two (WW2), when it became a target of Nazi Germany’s aerial attacks. In this blog post, we will explore the history of the White Horse Hotel and how it was affected by WW2 in the 1940s.
The White Horse Hotel before WW2
The White Horse Hotel was built in 1769 by John Charrington, a brewer and businessman who owned several pubs in London. The hotel was named after the white horse that Charrington used to ride around his properties. The hotel was designed by Robert Adam, a famous Scottish architect who also worked on Buckingham Palace and Kedleston Hall.
The hotel had three storeys and a basement, with a large courtyard in front of it. The hotel had 40 rooms, each with its own fireplace and window. The hotel also had a dining room, a ballroom, a billiard room, and a bar. The hotel was decorated with paintings, sculptures, chandeliers, and mirrors.
The hotel attracted many guests from different walks of life, such as merchants, travellers, artists, politicians, and royalty. Some of the notable guests who stayed at the hotel were King George III (in 1789), Lord Nelson (in 1801), Charles Dickens (in 1836), Queen Victoria (in 1843), Winston Churchill (in 1908), and Charlie Chaplin (in 1914).
The bomb also did great damage to the Charrington’s White Horse. Men were doing temporary repairs to the hotel three days later when, at four o’clock in the afternoon, the second flying bomb exploded at the back. Nine were killed in this incident and 15 seriously injured; 1,765 more homes were either ruined or damaged.
These photos of WW2 bomb damage in London are from a collection of newspaper and magazine articles published in England during World War Two. My late grandfather gave these to me as he knew I was interested in London history.
Clearing out some papers the other day I came across a WW2 map of the ‘County Borough of East Ham’ – it had been produced by the LA and indicated the position of the 3 ARP depots. The well-thumbed map was crudely marked with a series of red crosses – I was unsure what was being recorded and then it dawned – 2 crosses on Flanders Rd! It would appear to record all rocket strikes in the borough. Whilst it is nice to be in possession of such a document, it clearly should securely housed in an appropriate war archive. I am open to suggestions…
This was so interesting thank you for the information. Bought back memories that my grandfather told me.
I lived at No. 1 Market Street and went to a school nearby , when on my way to school in the winter and when the basement was full of frozen water we would skate on the ice. Happy day’s.
Leonard you knew my to cousins Alan and David Weaver at no 9 I used to be there with them at times my sister rita died in September last year she grew up at no 11, my mum told us about two sisters that were in a telephone kiosk outside the white horse pub when the bomb dropped they died in the blast in 1988 I was talking to a bricklayer out in Essex he said he came from East Ham and his sisters were killed in that telephone box.
I was almost five years old when the white horse pub was bombed by a V1 ( Doodle Bug ) rocket in 1944 i was in the entrance of the Anderson shelter at number 3 Gresham Road some 200 yards from the pub. I even saw the Doodle Bugs engines stop and it dropped like a stone directly onto the White Horse. The blast blew out the whole back of our house in Gresham Road. I also saw some workmen who were repairing the roofs of houses in White Horse Road blown of the roofs from the blast. I am sure that some of them must have been seriously injured.
Soon after the end of the war in May 1945 the bombed out White Horse pub became a fantastic playground for us local youngsters. it was in 1948 that i and some of my friends were playing in the building when i fell into the cellar fracturing my left arm in three places. My arm has never been right since and i am now fast approaching 80.but i remember those times as if it were yesterday
Keith Eagland.
Hello Keith, thank you for your fascinating story. It really brings these WW2 photos to life. I have more to share over the coming months. So hopefully they will jog the memory of other website visitors. Keep well.
My fathers first wife and son aged 4 were killed in an air raid in Gyledune Gardens in 1944 they were the only casualties in that area that night. The doodle bug had come from Holland
Thank you for sharing your story, as sad as it is.
Pub was rebuilt (am not sure when), but has now been demolished and new flats being built as we speak.
Hello Tim, thanks for your comment. I’ve a few WW2 images from other areas of London, so as long as people don’t mind me stretching the geographical boundaries a little of this blog, I’ll also share them and the story behind the images.
HI, i was landlord of the white horse high street south east ham in the early sixty’s along with my other pubs the carpenter’s arms carpenters road stratford, and the old army/navy plaistow. my father inlaw was the land/lord of the bombay grab bow road and the st andrews head limehouse. i was born in bow by bow bridge in the mid 1930s, moving from london to my farms in kent and sussex and cotswolds still an eastender, take the boy out of east end but can’t take the east end out of the boy.
Who was landlord when it was destroyed by the v1?
Further to my enquiry re. landlord of White Horse I see it it listed as Mrs E.Scott who would have been my Aunt Eva who died in that attack. To add a further bit of history to the story, my Dad who was close to his sister had taken the pub clock to mend when the V1 fell so it never went back and was around, on a shelf for a long time. I remember as a 9or 10 year old just before the war visiting. I remember the bar, with cookies under a glass cover and her partner, a policeman showing me a broken truncheon and saying he had broken it over someone’s head. A tough area!