Historic Ye Olde Swiss Cottage shuts down

Evening Standard

A historic old pub, which gave Swiss Cottage station its name, has shut dealing another blow to London’s pub scene.Ye Olde Swiss Cottage served its last orders on Saturday after its owners Samuel Smith’s Brewery decided to close the pub out of the blue.

Transcript

00:00If you live in London, then you might recognize the name of this pub.

00:03The Old Swiss College is so famous that both the surrounding area and the local tube station bears its name.

00:08And what makes this sad is that despite standing since 1830,

00:11last weekend this famous establishment served its last pint.

00:15Now, this is not a unique story.

00:16More pubs closed in London than anywhere else in the country last year,

00:20with 55 shutting their doors across the capital.

00:23Small business insurance providers Simply Business calculated

00:25that the independent pub could be extinct by 2035,

00:29as increasing costs such as rent, supplies and national insurance charges

00:33put more pressure on pub landlords.

00:35And considering the Swiss College wasn't even an independent pub,

00:38that highlights real challenges facing communities.

00:40There is some small hope that campaigners will be able to save this landmark,

00:43though the fact that it isn't a listed building will make it significantly more difficult.

00:47Regardless, across the city and country, this industry faces a serious challenge.

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