The Bedford, Balham

The Bedford in 2012

The Bedford, originally named The Bedford Hotel, is a Grade II listed public house at 77 Bedford Hill, Balham, London SW12 9HD.

History

The original building (then named The Bedford Hotel) was built in the 1870s.[1] In 1876, the pub building housed the coroner's inquest into the notorious unsolved murder of Charles Bravo, a resident and lawyer who was poisoned, possibly by his wife.[2] It was rebuilt in about 1931 for the brewery Watney Combe & Reid, and designed by Alfred W. Blomfield, in a "neo-Georgian manner, with Arts and Crafts and Art Deco influences".[1]

It was Grade II listed in 2015 by Historic England.[1]

Comedy and music venue

The Bedford hosts Banana Cabaret, where performers have included Stephen K Amos, Omid Djalili, Harry Hill, Eddie Izzard, Al Murray and Catherine Tate.[3]

The pub is also well known as a music venue with Paolo Nutini, The Clash, U2 and Ed Sheeran performing early gigs here.^[citation needed]

The Bedford has won various awards including the Publican Music Pub of the Year 2002; the Morning Advertiser Pub of the Year 2004; and the Evening Standard Pub of the Year 2002.[4][5][6]

References

1. Historic England. "The Bedford Hotel (1427422)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
2. "The Bedford Public House, Balham". mysteriousbritain.co.uk.
3. "About". bananacabaret.co.uk.
4. "About Us". thebedford.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009.
5. "And the winners are". MorningAdvertiser.co.uk.
6. "Comedians, khachapuri and chippies: it's Balham's best bits". Time Out Blog.

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