The Blind Beggar

Ronnie Kray murdered George Cornell here, a bullet in the eye.

Location: 337 Whitechapel Road, E1 1BU

Description: It was in this infamous pub that gangster Ronnie Kray murdered one of his many enemies, George Cornell (of the Richardson gang), by shooting him through the eye on March 8th 1966 as he was sitting at the saloon bar.

The pub is also the venue of William Booth's first ever sermon, directly leading to the creation of the East London Christian Mission and then the Salvation Army.

The current pub dates back to 1894 when it was built on the site of an ancient inn (at least back to 1654).

The curious name comes from a Tudor ballad called 'the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green' telling the legend of Henry de Montfort.

The story goes that brave knight Henry de Montfort was wounded and lost his sight in the Battle of Evesham in 1265 and nursed to health by a baroness, and together they had a child named Besse. He became the Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green and used to beg at the crossroads.

By a strange coincidence, given the pub's name, this was also where Bulldog Wallis, a pickpocket and ruffian, killed a man by pushing an umbrella tip through his eye.

The pub was also owned by West Ham football legends Bobby Moore and Harry Redknapp.