The Pembroke

Named after a local inventors greatest creation.

Location: 86 Earls Court Rd, Kensington, W8 6EG

Description: This pub was renamed The Hansom Cab in the 1950's after being formerly called The Pembroke Arms.

It's a Grade II Listed building and was built as part of the late Georgian development of Pembroke Square in the 1820s. Joseph Aloysius Hansom was the inventor of the Hansom cab and also a local resident.

It was also called the Coleherne Arms and in the 1950s was the epicentre of the Earls Court gay scene. By the 1980s it was a well established leather bar featuring regular visits from Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett.

In November 2010, former newspaper editor and TV presenter Piers Morgan bought this pub for his brother Rupert to run. He said:

Pubs play a big role in my family. My parents used to run one in East Sussex called the Griffin Inn, and my brother Rupert has worked in the trade.

Rupert is going to be general manager. He used to run Guy Ritchie's pub The Punch Bowl, but we decided we'd get our own place and give Ritchie a damn good run for his money. We're going to have a lot of fun. My wife Celia has gamely agreed to be a barmaid on Friday nights. I'm still negotiating her outfit.