For period of 8 years or so in the 1970's & 1980's CAMRA actually owned a small portfolio of pubs nationwide, including one in Woolwich SE18 - the Village Blacksmith.

In October 1974 CAMRA established a commercial company, named CAMRA (Real Ale) Investments Ltd, with the stated objective "to acquire and run a chain of public houses offering a range of traditional draught beers in simply and unfussy surrounding".

Presumably at that time, direct ownership was considered one of the ways that CAMRA could protect pubs and expand the provision of real ale.

Subsequently, in the early 1980s, CAMRA determined that direct ownership was no longer part of its strategy. Therefore the investment company and its pub portfolio were sold in 1983, with CAMRA (Real Ale) Investments being renamed Midsummer Inns.

Village Blacksmith, Hillreach, Woolwich

The following article appeared in the July 1979 edition of London Drinker magazine regarding the recent re-opening of the pub following its acquisition and refurbishment by CAMRA:

"The company originally set up by CAMRA to own and operate a chain of pubs opened its second London pub last month. "The Village Blacksmith" in Hillreach, Woolwich, SE18 was a former Courage house which CAMRA Investments acquired last year. After extensive renovations and the building of an extension to the bar space, the pub re-opened on June 12th."

From Feb 1980 the following advert starting appearing in London Drinker:

Within a relatively short space of time a new landlord, Nick Winnington, was appointed as detailed in the May 1980 edition of London Drinker:

A couple of years later Nick was offered another then CAMRA-owned pub, the Alma in Cambridge. In addition to being a publican, Nick went on to be an active member of the Cambridge CAMRA branch (including two stints as chair) and the branch's obituary to him can be accessed here.

The Village Blacksmith closed in the late 1990s and had planning permission for conversion to residential refused in 2013. The ground floor has continued to be unused since the pub closed, though the upper floors continue to be residential accommodation. (Last updated July 2026)

Simon's Tower Bridge Brewery

As well as owning pubs, CAMRA also briefly owned a micro-brewery site - on Tower Bridge Rd SE1, a stone's throw from the bridge itself.

As this article from the May 1979 edition of London Drinker outlines, CAMRA purchased the premises and provided loan capital for the new Simon's Tower Bridge Brewery being established by local council employee Simon Hosking. Part of the rationale for the investment was that the brewery would supply discounted beer to CAMRA's pubs.

Simon Hosking may be regarded as a somewhat overlooked pioneer of the London microbrewery scene and he was certainly forward-thinking in later securing a licence for a brewery tap on the premises.

Unfortunately, the brewery struggled and in 1981 Simon sold it to two former employees of the neighbouring, and by then closed, Courage Horsleydown Brewery.

However, brewing at the site ceased only a few years later, though the taproom remained in operation and in 2004 became Adnams Brewery's only London pub, known as the Bridge House. Ownership subsequently changed hands and the pub was renamed the Raven.

You can read a tribute to Simon Hosking by Roger Warhurst here.

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