Cat and Mutton pub closes

The Cat and Mutton on Broadway Market. Photograph: Ewan Munro

A 300 year old pub in Hackney closed on Monday and will remain shut until March when new management will reopen it.

The current owners of The Cat & Mutton have surprised many with their decision to sell it after renovating the pub on Broadway Market since they bought it in 2003.

On Sunday, the pub issued the following statement, via Twitter: “So after 10 years we say goodbye, the Cat was sold last week and will shut from tomorrow.

“Massive thanks to the many who made it what it was.”

The pub’s Twitter account also confirmed that the venue will still be a pub when it is reopened after undergoing ‘much needed refurbishment’.

While businesses in the area of Broadway Market have recently faced rising rents, it is understood that the sale of the pub was not caused by financial issues.

The Cat & Mutton has existed since the 1600s, when it was an ale house under the guise of The Cattle & Shoulder of Mutton.