“Do you remember the girl who did that thing with the stocking: she put it in her mouth and then pulled it out ... somewhere else?” asks former dancer Jo King. “And who was the girl with the snake? I remember she used to clear the pub. And Canadian Linda, who was the most graceful, fairy-like doll ... Then there was me, shouting at people if they didn’t put money in the jug!”

It’s Saturday 30 July, and the White Horse strip pub in London’s Shoreditch is packed for its closing night. On the stage dancers sparkle, people cry, and three generations of landladies wave goodbye. “I’m going to miss it terribly,” says Sue Bristow, the pub’s outgoing boss.

Behind the scenes, coins are counted from collection jars amid a clutter of flowers, cards and cake. It’s Legends Night, and dancers across the decades have come back to pay tribute. One woman’s parents are here; another has brought in old photos. At one point in the evening, everyone does the conga. It feels like an anachronism: in Shoreditch, traditional East End boozers are now as out of place as horse-drawn carts.

The Bristows opened the White Horse 38 years ago, on the corner of what was then a Hayes warehouse and had previously been a bacon factory (it was built between 1890 and 1931 for the Lipton family of grocers and tea merchants). Shoreditch in the late 1970s was an unloved and unprofitable corner of London. The pub struggled, too – until the family decided to expand it into a strip club.

‘There’s a camaraderie here …’ Behind the scenes at the White Horse on its closing night

For decades after that, the White Horse held its own as father, mother, daughter and finally granddaughter pulled the pints. “Everyone thought you were Peggy Mitchell,” Sue tells her mother, Pauline. “No, that was you!” Pauline replies.

Shoreditch has since undergone successive identity shifts, colonised first by artists, then by the inhabitants of luxury flats. In the process, this old factory-warehouse became prime real estate, and in 2001 was bought for around £22m (a snip compared to its current value) by Derwent London, whose property portfolio in the capital is valued at £5bn.

Derwent rebranded it the Tea Building, and brought in architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris to whip it into stylish shape: exposed industrial piping and smooth concrete, complemented by a Lipton-inspired “Green Tea” energy-saving initiative. The building became a cornerstone of the “new” Shoreditch: home to members’ club Shoreditch House and filled with marketing agencies, media companies and fashion brands.

In these circumstances, it is perhaps surprising the White Horse managed to hang on so long. This year, however, Derwent raised the rent considerably, then offered to buy out the White Horse. The Bristows agreed, signing a non-disclosure agreement about the deal.

The tips jug passed round after each dance

The dancers, however, are outspoken and angry. After all, the White Horse is the birthplace of the East London Strippers Collective (ELSC), which formed in 2014 to fight strip club closures in Tower Hamlets and improve working conditions across the industry. An atmosphere of mutual support, rather than bitter competition, allowed the collective to flourish.

But the White Horse is among the last of its breed. The power to grant licences for sexual entertainment venues is in the hands of local councils, which are expected to make decisions based on evidence of public nuisance. In 2010, however, the local borough, Hackney, imposed a “nil limit” policy, meaning that whenever such venues sell up, the licence is gone forever and no new one will be issued. The decision was made despite 66% of those who took part in a public consultation voting against this effective ban on strip clubs.

“Sue’s been pushed out, and we’re all devastated – this is the best place to work in London, ” says White Horse dancer and activist Edie Lamort. “There’s a camaraderie here that I haven’t experienced in any other job. Everyone’s well looked after, and there’s a family atmosphere. The rest of the places are cut-throat.”

Sue’s been pushed out and we’re all devastated. This is the best place to work in London Edie Lamort

Strip clubs divide opinion, of course, and there will be many who find little to mourn in the closure of the White Horse. The dancers, however, argue their workplace security should be the priority, and that moral concerns are rarely so vociferously voiced around other industries.

The White Horse has always worked on the old “pound-in-the-jug” model, meaning dancers could make money without having to hustle for private dances, as is the case in most strip clubs. “It fosters creative stage shows,” Lamort says. “And Sue used to let us come in to practise, she let us run life drawing classes upstairs, and we filmed here for a documentary. You’d never get that in the big clubs.”

For the dancers, it’s not just sentimentality that is making them tearful tonight. Many are wondering what they’ll do next in a city increasingly hostile to their industry. Some already have second jobs; others say it’s going to be a struggle. Sue Bristow’s daughter Emilie is breaking from the family tradition, and has an accountancy apprenticeship in the City.

‘Shoreditch is dying’: White Horse voices

From the left: Emilie, Sue and Pauline Bristow, three generations who have run the White Horse since 1978

Pauline Bristow, former landlady: “When we first came here, Shoreditch was derelict. You never used to see anyone walking up Redchurch Street. I’m not sure if it started to change because of our pubs, but I do think we started getting people into the area. People always accepted that women were running this. That’s how it was: a pub would revolve around the landlady.”

Sue Bristow, outgoing landlady: “I was six when we first came here; I couldn’t even see out of the windows. I started working behind the bar when I was a teenager and I’ve been running the pub with my mum for the last 13 years. We’ve seen so many changes, been through two recessions. When we gave the news we were closing, everyone was in tears. I wasn’t expecting that. I’ll miss the dancers. It feels like I’ve got loads of adopted daughters here.”

Emilie Bristow, bartender: “I’ve always been here, so I don’t know what it’s going to be like once the place is gone. I’m not sure if I’d have ended up taking over. I wanted to see if I could do something else, like get a job in the City. I’ve got an apprenticeship with an accountancy firm.”



Barbara, who sings and also runs the White Horse guestlist

Barbara, singer and door staff: “It’s a shame because a 38-year family business is going. It’s been done to clear the area, but this is what makes Shoreditch. The heart of Shoreditch is going. It’s like Shoreditch is dying.”

Laura Scott, accounts: “I’ve been here since 2009. I’m Sue’s best friend and our daughters are friends. They’re so easygoing here; that’s why they’ve put up with me for so long! I have been barred from doing karaoke, though. To be honest, I think it’s out of order they have to close. I get that Shoreditch is up and coming, but they’re losing their home as well as their livelihood.”



Tracy Coleman, singer with Plum Busby and former dancer: “I think the phrase ‘Don’t let your daughter on the stage, Mrs Worthington’ is pertinent to lots of us in here. I’ve performed my entire life. I just used to do it naked and now I do it with clothes. I was a dancer for 20 years and I think it’s a great shame that such an amazing cultural establishment is being blocked from the area.”

Stacey Clare started dancing at the pub in 2010, and later helped found the East London Strippers Collective

Stacey Clare, dancer and co-founder of the ELSC: “The White Horse provided reasonably good working conditions in an industry where licensees are under no obligation to uphold dancers’ welfare. Many venues are surviving because they’re allowed to financially exploit their workers, and there are no legal mechanisms to stop this. The White Horse was one of the few places that didn’t relentlessly fuck dancers over and now it’s closing, because the business couldn’t keep up.”

Alexyi, hairstylist: “I’m here for the girls, to zhuzh them and spruce them up. I’ve been coming in for about five years and now we’re all like family. So even when I’m not doing their hair, I jump in to brighten their day. It’s the end of an era. There’s a decline in the art of dancing and in the art of going out.”

Christie, dancer: “My parents are here tonight. I wanted them to experience the White Horse. They’re not going to see me naked, but they wouldn’t care if I was walking around in my bra and knickers. I’ve been here for 12 years – it’s a community. You come to work and whatever shit you’ve got going on in your personal life, it’s OK. Stripping gives people the freedom to travel, study, do what they need to.”

Original landlord Jon Bristow with former dancer Jo King, who now runs a school for burlesque and striptease

Jon Bristow, Sue’s father and former owner: “When we opened there was nothing here, just the telephone exchange down the road, and that was where all the customers came from. The lorry drivers used to park up on top of the bridge and they’d come in, too. My mum used to come up and spend the night here watching the girls. She’s 93 now. She’d sit in the corner and drink dry martini and lemonade. She knew all the girls – got on with everybody, she did.”

Jo King, striptease teacher and former dancer: “I was about 26 when I came in 1983. I worked here until I was 40, then I threw my knickers in the air and they landed on the curtains. I said, ‘If you miss me, you can smell my knickers!’ – I’m such a lady. I think it’s very sad the White Horse is closing. It’s the last bastion of proper strip clubs and a bit of a legend.”

Doormen David, left, and Kamil outside the White Horse on closing day

David, bouncer: “The White Horse is the best place in London for atmosphere: the girls, the bar staff and especially the owners. Why is it closing? Money. That’s always the reason.”

Kamil, bouncer: “I’ve enjoyed working here and I’m upset it’s closing. I heard the reason why it’s closing is because people say I’m too handsome and they couldn’t handle it.”

Vera, photographer and former dancer: “A place I would call home is closing down. It’s breaking my heart. Shoreditch, Soho ... so many places are disappearing. London is selling its soul.”

Regular dancer Foxy: ‘I’ve got no idea what I’m going to do now for work’

Foxy, dancer and member of the ELSC: “The reason the White Horse is closing is the same as everywhere else in London: gentrification. I don’t know what’s going to happen to it, but I can only guess it’s going to be a hipster cafe. I’ve got no idea what I’m going to do now for work. I’m a stage girl, and there aren’t any places left where you can work like this.”

Ottilie, dancer: “I’ve been here on-and-off for six years. It’s like a weird, sexy family here. The owners respect us and that hierarchy of respect trickles down from the staff to the punters. The closure is indicative of what’s happening in London. Small communities are being eroded in pursuit of corporate interests. So roll on the next Pret.”



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