Above painting by J T Wilson, 1800s.

Above painting 1868.

Above painting by Mr. Corcoran, pre 1880.

Above painting 1885.

Above photo, circa 1890.

Above photo, close up of 1890 one.

Above photo, 1895.

Above painting circa 1896, kindly sent by Helen Allinson.

Above painting by Philip Norman 1897.

Above painting signed G. C. 1898.

Above painting, date unknown, kindly sent by John Lagos.

Above postcard, date unknown.

Above painting, date unknown.

Above photo, pre 1898.

Above photo showing the old "Brockley Jack" pre 1898. Kindly sent by Abba Seraphim.

Above photo showing the old "Brockley Jack" pre 1898. Kindly sent by Abba Seraphim.

Above photo, date unknown.

Above photo, date unknown.

Above photo, date unknown.

Above photo, 2016, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.

Above sign left 2015, sign right 2018, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.

Above photo 2019.

From http://transpont.blogspot.co.uk  Monday, 7 March, 2016.

The end of the (old) Brockley Jack.

The current Brockley Jack pub dates back to 1898 and replaced an older building demolished not long before. The pub had actually only been known by that name since 1863 - prior to that it was called The Castle. It is described in Walter Besant's London South of the Thames (published 1912, but written in the 1890s):- 'on the west side of the road is the Brockley Jack public-house. It was named after Jack Cade and was formerly frequented by Dick Turpin and other highway-men, and is a good specimen of the English wayside tavern of the last century. The taproom and the whole architecture of the place with its old buildings are curious, and the sign nailed to the stump of an old elm in the yard is painted on a mammoth's bone which was dug up in the railway cutting behind the house. The Croydon Canal was acquired by the Croydon Railway in 1836, and it was in deepening this that the bones, of which the sign is one, were found. The old farm south of this inn will soon be built over, and houses are already appearing in the lane to Honor Oak, but most of the ground is still pasture' (Jack Cade was a leader of the 1450 Kentish uprising).

The demolition of the old building was opposed by some, as indicated by this report from the Illustrated London News, 16 October 1897:-

Judging by the number of paintings made of the old pub, it was something of an iconic building.

From the Illustrated London News, 16 October, 1897.

THE JACK INN, BROCKLEY.

The vandal is generally more inclined to spare a public-house than he is to spare a church but it is the old "Jack Inn" at Brockley, in Kent, that is now marked down for demolition. Many a cyclist following the course of the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway from London Bridge will miss the welcome which the inn continued to give from the old world; but the growth of suburban London is imperious in its demands. Brockley is within the Parliamentary borough of Deptford; but the little boundaries and isolations of London are rapidly disappearing in that direction, and much beside the "Jack Inn" will disappear ere long in front of London’s immense army of occupation.

From The Stage, 1 November, 1990.

BRIDGE LANE.

The Story Of The Irrepressible Brockley Jack.

THIS original play, which apparently evolved through improvisation, takes its inspiration from the tale of a highwayman who was supposed to have hanged himself in the pub reputedly named after him (Brockley Castle Inn) in the 1720s.

Written, with thanks to Geoff Bullen, by actor Michael Carroll, Brockley Jack ambitiously claims to question whether violence and criminal activity can only be blamed on harsh economic conditions. But once I had worked out the confusing medley of characters, played by the four actors, all sense of this sociological discovery was lost. To its credit, however, this powerful drama, conveyed the brutality of a London dependent on a system of paid informers, rather than the police, to control crime.

Insisting that good must triumph at all costs, Carroll conveys his particularly nasty bit of unsubtle criminal work with vehemence, pulling off The Blind Magistrate with slightly more charm. Al Gregg, as the boy to a man (from animal butcher to butchery on the highway), Brockley Jack, musters up a combination of aggression and self pity as well as a gentle portrayal of satiric artist Hogarth. Jenny Rowan, dressed to kill and thrill, plays Fielding's daughter and accomplice tramp/vamp parts with certain regard for the period. Jonathan Wilde makes up the quartet with a sturdy performance.

Although set in Restoration England, I would say the production, despite the suitable style of clothing, loses out by ignoring the language of that day - and the proper way to hold a fan! Yet the time warp element is perhaps more experimental than detrimental and is a good kick start for this new company, the London Ensemble. Shame about Bridge Lane’s no grant future though.

Pauline Loriggio.

Above photo showing the new "Brockley Jack" post 1898. Kindly sent by Abba Seraphim.

Above postcard, circa 1900.

Above postcard, circa 1905. Obviously a coloured version of the one above.