A look back at The Pompadours pub in Harold Hill, from its opening in 1956 to its demolition and replacement with new homes.
Samuel Arthur S. Yeo designed the pub. It opened May 18, 1956. Three soldiers started the pub, all of whom served in the Essex Regiment’s second battalion.
A contest decided the pub’s name. “Pompadours” honored the battalion because their uniforms had purple, leading people to nickname them “pompadours.”
Author Sam Cullen wrote about the pub, calling it The Flying Bottles. It had lots of fights. Seventeen managers tried to control it, all in only three years.
The pub’s customers were very lively. People still tell stories about it, and historian Don Tait shared some, including one about a two-day party.
Tait said a publican left it open. Someone called from the Conqueror pub, reporting The Pompadours was open, so people raced over there quickly.
The ale flowed for two whole days. Then, someone called the police, who came and locked it up. The pub closed in March 2016, and they approved 21 new homes in 2021.