The history of the pub…
The Russell public house opened on Brixton Road in 1878 and not in 1906 which is a popular assumption. The misunderstanding regarding the age of the building comes from the fact that the distinctive frontage was added along with an extension in 1906 and that date is inscribed on the top left of the building. The building was a traditional large Victorian public house with wooden panelling, a billiards area and plenty of marble. The Russell was not originally a hotel, the rooms above housed lodgers and staff, the hotel aspect appears in the late 1920’s. During WW2 the building was hit on at least two occasions, you can read more about bomb incidents that affected the pub over on the bombing and war section of this site – here.
From the 1930’s until the early 1990’s the Russell Hotel was owned by the Brady family who even changed it’s name to Brady’s for a time. After Brady’s sold up and moved to Atlantic Road the pub went through several changes of ownership and by 2003 was closed and boarded up. It was briefly squatted and then by late 2005 the first sign of change was that the upper hotel floors were converted into apartments and a residential extension was added onto the right side of the building, on the site of where an adjoining dairy once stood. The flats were slow to sell, this probably wasn’t helped by the fact that the ground floor remained a building site with unsightly hoardings and general mess.
The future of The Russell Hotel looked uncertain and from 2003 to 2011 it stood empty with rumours of a total conversion into flats circulating. Then Tesco did what Tesco does and moved the builders in to create another one of it’s ‘Express’ stores, upsetting locals and gutting the interior. The exterior was mostly preserved, the marble pillars and the wooden window frames remain, while the Russell Hotel sign was replaced with the familiar Tesco logo and a cash machine was fitted into part of the old window.
The Russell Hotel through the years…
I have used two different sources of information to track some of The Russell Hotel’s previous owners and occupants:
Kelly’s Business Directories 1880 to 1939
Year Premises Name Owner Name
1881 The Russell Hugall & Co
1886 The Russell E.R Coles
1888 The Russell E.R Coles
1889 The Russell E.R Coles
1890 The Russell E.R Coles
1891 The Russell Charles J.F. Shannaw
1892 The Russell Charles James Fras Shannaw
1894 The Russell Charles James Fras Shannaw
1895 The Russell Charles James Fras Shannaw
1897 The Russell Alick White
1898 The Russell Alick White
1903 The Russell Tom Lee
1904 The Russell Thomas Lee
1909 The Russell Thomas Lee
1915 The Russell Mrs Jane Lee
1920 The Russell Mrs Jane Lee
1923 The Russell Mrs Mary Ann Jane Eastwood, Frederick Lee & Mrs Daisy Webb
1925 The Russell Hotel Mrs J Lee & Sons
1928 The Russell Hotel Mrs J Lee & Sons
1938 The Russell Hotel Luke Brady
Census Information
The census returns for 1881, 1901 and 1911 below list the occupants of The Russell Hotel. The Census for this part of Brixton Road in 1891 is damaged and so I’ve not been able to include that.
1881
| Name | Relation to Head | Age in 1881 | Occupation | Place of Birth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Hugall | Head | 43 | Licensed Victualar | Middlesex |
| Emma Hugall | Wife | 33 | Surrey | |
| Martha Freeman | Servant | 21 | Barmaid | Surrey |
| Rachel Drew | Servant | 23 | Barmaid | Surrey |
| Louise Wilson | Servant | 26 | General Servant | Surrey |
1901
| Name: | Age and year of birth in 1911: | Relation to Head: | Place of Birth | Occupation: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alick White | 52 abt 1849 | Head | Brisley | Publican |
| Edith D White | 15 abt 1886 | Daughter | Lambeth | / |
| Frank Hassett | 24 abt 1877 | Servant | Lambeth | Barman |
| Madaline Hand | 23 abt 1878 | Servant | Chatham | Barhand |
| Fredk Sargent | 29 abt 1872 | Boarder | Old Brampton | Barman |
| Ethel Evans | 29 abt 1872 | Cook | Manchester | Cook |
| Minnie Robinson | 24 abt 1877 | Servant | Leighton Buzzard | Barman |
| Albt Cherry | 23 abt 1878 | Servant | York | Billiard Marker |
| Jenny Willy | 20 abt 1881 | Servant | Boston | Domestic Servant |
1911
| Name: | Age and year of birth in 1911: | Relation to Head: | Place of Birth | Occupation: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Lee | 52 abt 1859 | Head | Lambeth | PUBLICAN |
| Jane Lee | 54 abt 1857 | Wife | Bermondsey | ASSISTANT IN THE BUSINESS |
| Thomas Lee | 29 abt 1882 | Son | Limehouse | BILLIARD MARKER |
| Fred Lee | 27 abt 1884 | Son | Bermondsey | ASSISTANT IN BUSINESS |
| Daisey Lee | 20 abt 1891 | Daughter | London, United Kingdom | ASSISTANT IN BUSINESS |
| Ethel Griffin | 25 abt 1886 | Servant | Kensington | BARMAID |
| George Smith | 24 abt 1887 | Servant | BEDFORD, Bedford, England | BARMAN |
| Ellen Jones | 37 abt 1874 | Servant | Lambeth | HOUSE MAID |
| Hetty Grover | 24 abt 1887 | Servant | Kilburn | BARMAID |
| Lily Filmer | 23 abt 1888 | Servant | GUILDFORD, England | BARMAID |
| Emily Bremer | 39 abt 1872 | Servant | Bethnal Green | COOK |
| Peter Daniel Bermingham | 37 abt 1874 | Boarder | Burgh, Edinburgh, Scotland | COMEDIAN |
| Bessie Bermingham | 26 abt 1885 | Boarder | Lancaster, Lancaster, England | / |
| James Cumming | 22 abt 1889 | Boarder | Glasgow, Scotland | VARIETY ARTISTE |
| James Cumming | 22 abt 1889 | Boarder | Glasgow, Scotland | VARIETY ARTISTE |
Hello
Thank you for your fascinating website. I am searching for an address where my grandmother lived and worked as a chambermaid in 1938 and wondered if anyone would have any memories of the house. It is 28 Grove Road, Brixton SW
Kind regards
Deborah
Are there any other photos of 116 Brixton from around 1890? My great grandmother was a barmaid there in 1890 according to the 1891 Census. (I’m researching Matthew Fair, who disappeared around 1894.)
I now live in a flat above where the bar would have been at 116 brixton road, flat A. I’d love to hear the history, contact me and I can provide photos
According to a census from 1891, my great grandmother lived there listed as a servant/barmaid from Kennington. She had married Matthew Fair at an early age, had a daughter when she was 23, and within 5 years Matthew disappeared.
In around 1894 she and her daughter left with a man from Chicago who was in the same business as her family, surgical instrument making. He moved her and her daughter to Chicago, married, and adopted her daughter. She attended operas often costumed according to the time and place of the opera. My father tells me she was a contralto, and when she sang it scared him.
I, her great great granddaughter, am a Broadway actress and singer – a belter. I fancy I inherited my voice from her. I imagine her singing drinking songs as she served lagers in Russell pub at 18 years old.
I worked as a barman here in 1976, this premises was owned by Luke Brady, I was 19 years old then.
I have fond memories of Brady’s in the eighties loved goin there on a Friday and Saturday night and even worked there x
I worked there in 1986
Hi Gillian, do you remember Alison Cresswell, who worked there around the same time
Gillian do you remember someone called Alison Cresswell? She worked there around the same time
In the late 60s/early 70s I lived with my aunt and uncle in Tooting south London. They were called John and Mary O’Driscoll. While I was living with them we visited the Russell pub several times. They knew quite a lot of customers there but I think the main reason for going was to see a cousin of ours from County Cork Ireland who was probably employed there at the time. I think his name might have been Con O’Driscoll and now, all these years later, I am trying to do my Driscoll family tree! My problem is that I have very little information about the family and although it’s quite a long shot I wonder if any of the staff or customers or even neighbours from that time have any useful info? At the time the pub was owned by the Brady family, this name also sounds Irish so they could have been friends. Thank you
.