Shacklewell Arms gets new hands

The Shacklewell Arms, Shacklewell Lane E8

Dalston’s increasingly vibrant landscape has enhanced its unique roster of attractions with the revamping of a local institution, the Shacklewell Arms. The iconic free house, built in the 1870s, has been taken over by a team largely comprised of Hackney residents who have set about transforming it into an intimate social and live music venue.

In the couple of months since its re-launch, the Shacklewell Arms has gained a considerable reputation for gigs and club nights, attracting several high-profile acts. Recent performers have included Jamie XX, Beyonce Knowles’s sister Solange, and celebrity DJ Mark Ronson, who turned up and asked to be allowed to do an impromptu set. Attendances at the club nights have also been strong, with the weekly Friday ‘Beach Creep’ night attracting a capacity crowd of around 200.

The Shacklewell Arms had been a popular St Lucian establishment for the best part of 25 years, and an effort has been made by the new owners to preserve its distinctive atmosphere. The Caribbean-styled dancehall maintains all of its tropical décor, with colourful murals adorning the corridors and outdoor spaces. The bar area features sombre Tudor beams, giving it the feel of a cosy country pub, and the furnishings are decidedly low-key.

The team is eager to ensure that the Shacklewell remains a local pub first and foremost. “We want it to be a nice local pub with events bolted on, rather than just a venue,” says Paul Lilley, the newly-appointed events manager. Indeed, the old clientele are still coming round, including the previous owner, who “still feels a part of it”.

A more organic marketing campaign has been adopted in a deliberate attempt to attract the right patrons, and most of the publicity is done via word of mouth or social networking sites. “We’re after a discerning music crowd”, says Paul, adding that they are trying to avoid the pub-crawls and hen parties from Kingsland High Street and prevent the venue from becoming over-populated.

In the spirit of maintaining a selective aura, the Shacklewell Arms has hosted a handful of secret shows, publicised only hours before on Twitter. Post-punk band The Horrors launched their new album Skying exclusively at the venue in July, and the pub will play host to a series of official Field Day Festival after-parties during the first weekend of August.

Shacklewell Arms man Tom Baker. Photograph: Dan Wilton

There is plenty of experience amongst the team involved in the re-launch. Tom Baker, a Hackney resident for over ten years who passed the pub daily on his way to work, runs the successful promotion company Eat Your Own Ears, and is involved in the local Field Day and Underage festivals. Dan Crouch, another of the partners, runs a collective of pubs and bars across the country, including the Lock Tavern in Camden.

With a wealth of experience behind them, Tom sees the rise of the Shacklewell Arms as “quite inevitable”. He is confident that by playing good music, this free house down Shacklewell Lane will become a focal point for sophisticated, new wave audiences. To this end, the money saved on redecorating has been invested in a modern PA sound system, and it is being put to good use, with an average of four gigs a week, plus club nights.

Besides the addition of a sound system, much has changed elsewhere in the pub, particularly behind the bar. A host of real ales and ciders are now available on tap, including the Yorkshire-brewed Copper Dragon’s Golden Ale. A food menu, including homemade traditional pub rolls is due to arrive over the summer.

Unusually for the surrounding area, the Shacklewell Arms boasts a large garden and courtyard space, including a Perspex roof for the inevitable summer downpours. Its relatively secluded location should help maintain the left-field quality of the pub, and with the enthusiasm of its new owners, it looks set to continue as a true Dalston institution.

The Shacklewell Arms
71 Shacklewell Lane
E8 2EB