EXCLUSIVE: The new owners of The Dog and Bull on Surrey Street are installing new sound systems for DJ sessions in the beer garden of the Grade II-listed building, as £125,000 refurb works over-run
Tradition erased: the new owners claim that the pub’s customers are fine about the name change
Surrey Street Market shoppers and pub regulars are in for a bit of a shock, and some disappointment, when they next pop in to Croydon’s oldest pub for a swift one. For The Dog and Bull is to be no more, and there won’t be any trace of Young’s bitter or Special on offer at the bar of the historic boozer.
The local branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has criticised the pub’s owners’ decision to change its historic name, calling it an “unnecessary change”.
The pub changed hands at the end of March, bought by Punch Pubs and shifted into what they call their “Laine portfolio”. The first thing they did was to close the doors and start a £125,000 refurbishment, mostly of the beer garden area.
The refurb – the second one at the pub in around 15 years – was meant to be finished by May 7, but is evidently running late, with a “soft launch” now planned for May 9 and a grand re-opening party on May 16.
Except it won’t be a re-opening of The Dog and Bull, but the opening of … The Dog.
Surrey Street has already got more than its fair share of ex-pubs turned into pretentious and pricy bars. Laine’s scheme threatens to deliver another one, where one of Croydon’s last remaining links to the town’s historic past has been for more than 700 years.
There in blue and gold: the pub has until now cherished its history
It is reckoned that there has been a pub on the site since 1276, when the medieval market was known as Butcher’s Row, and the inn was called The Bell. There is some suggestion that the site might have been used for bull baiting, and the tavern’s yard as a stock holding pen.
The pub has had other names down the centuries, including The Bull and The Black Bull. But the current building, Grade II-listed and praised by architecture historian Nikolaus Pevsner as “especially handsome” is thought to have been known as The Dog and Bull since it was built in the early 18th Century.
Awkward reminder: there’s a lot of Victorian period features in The Dog and Bull
Pre-refurb, the building featured decoration typical of traditional, Young’s London pubs (yes: it had one of those photos of the old Queen Mum pulling a pint, gawd bless ‘er), including original Victorian decoration such as stained glass depicting … a dog and a bull.
Other historic pubs, such as the Swan and Sugarloaf in South Croydon, have had their heritage features ripped out by new owners, to expressions of regret by organisations such as The Victorian Society. The Campaign for Real Ale’s Croydon and Sutton branch is now worried that the interior of The Dog and Bull might suffer a similar fate.
A spokesperson for Laine told Inside Croydon that inside the pub, “We’re giving everything a fresh sparkle while lovingly preserving all the quirks and charm that make this place a true Croydon gem.” Some essential building works is also being undertaken, they say.
Laine describe themselves as “a group of over 50 independently run institutions in Brighton, London and Birmingham”.
They say: “We’re all about saying ‘hell no’ to the chain pub industry.” Which seems odd, since they are run by Punch Pubs, a chain of 1,300 pubs, one of the biggest in the country.
New guv’nor: Sean Cook, the pub’s new landlord
And, full of contradictions, Laine add: “Old-school traditions? Nah, we’ll pass.” So not much hope of preserving the traditional market pub feel that so many enjoyed at The Dog and Bull, then?
“Unlike most pub groups, our community of diverse, creative change-makers build their own boozers, reflecting the individuals who make them.” Laine call themselves, without a hint of embarrassment, “cultural catalysts”. Sounds like just the kind of place a Jo Negrini or Matthew Sims would feel comfortable with.
Laine’s mission appears to be “welcoming the next generation of pub-goers into joyful, experimental spaces with style”.
Of Surrey Street, the Laine spokesperson told Inside Croydon: “The area is buzzing with culture, creativity and opportunity, and this venue is set to be the go-to destination with a big garden with festival vibes, private party spaces, great music, better beer, cocktails, bold flavoured pizzas (hopefully) and a seriously good night out!”
But those that have encountered Laine pubs in London say that their experience has been “mixed”. According to one regular, “Not all sell cask ale, despite being former Youngs pubs.”
The Dog and Bull is getting a new landlord as well as a new name, in Sean Cook, who has 16 years of pub management experience, and whose first job was selling fruit and veg from a stall on Surrey Street. It was Cook who let the cat (sorry) out of the bag about the renaming of the pub in an Instagram post.
In the dystopian manner of 2025, where no one will admit to anything, Laine claim that the name change is not a name change.
“We’ve embraced what the vibrant Croydon community has been telling us!” they say, using what is known in the print trade as a “dog’s dick” for emphasis.
“During our chats with everyone, two things really stood out: everyone affectionately calls this place ‘The Dog’ and naturally omits ‘and Bull’, and there’s a massive craving for a garden escape, a true green oasis amidst Croydon’s impressive skyline.” The Dog and Bull’s beer garden has been there for decades, offers food, heated seating and televised sport – much as Laine say they will be offering.
“The pub will proudly remain The Dog, the name everyone knows and loves.”
Asked for their response, one iC reader said: “What a load of old bollocks.”
Darkened colours: The Dog and Bull this week, three weeks after closure and with its refurb running late
A spokesperson for the Croydon and Sutton branch of CAMRA said: “I am definitely concerned about the suggestion that The Dog and Bull will be renamed to ‘The Dog’. It seems an unnecessary change to a historic pub name. We trust that the existing glassworks will remain intact, as no planning permission has been sought for changes to this Grade II-listed building.”
The spokesperson said that CAMRA will be consulting experts about whether the building’s planning restrictions include the pub sign on Surrey Street.
There are also questions about whether Laine will get licensing permission from Croydon Council to hold DJ sessions in the open air behind the pub, which is in close proximity to several residential buildings, homes to families with young children.
“The story put out on Instagram on Thursday did not inspire confidence, in my view, and seemed to degrade what is a historic pub, and which I believe is not a suitable venue for late night events such as DJs, and would detract from what has always been a traditional locals’ pub.”
Read more: Oval Tavern’s Sutton to take on little pub under the Flyover
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You mention the photo of the Queen Mother, but what about the picture of Prince Charles pulling a pint- actually taken in the Dog & BULL!
I haven’t been in for a few years but that is because it often seemed previously that the bar and seating hadn’t seemed to have a hoover in living memory let alone a referb so this might not be an entirely bad thing.
That’s the definition of a pub
If you want the feel of a traditional boozer go to theThe Royal Standard, five minutes away next the the flyover. There will also be the Two Brewers in Gloucester Road which will hopefully reopen in June.
Neither of which are market pubs on Surrey Street, Ev.
Good to relate the Standard open and busy last night.
more erasing of out towns rich and varied history …
Dont care what its called , but I will miss a pint of Youngs, one more pub struck from my list, Youngs beer needs saving.
Think that campaign aim was lost when the brewing moved to Bedford, Haydn
If John Young were alive, he’d turn in his grave.
Maybe they were thinking of the Dull & Bog Standard as the new name. But that might be confusing with the Royal Standard nearby.
How about the Dog & Breakfast?
96% of our readers prefer The Dog and Bull.
Makes you wonder who Laine spoke to when conducting their “research”.
if they don’t give a dog or bull about the grade two listing, the window should be reinstated, as well as the sign. Until it goes back in, I won’t use them.