It’s important to recognise that publicans, GMs and and even large pubcos are merely custodians of valued community assets. 

Long after a landlord has moved on or a brewery has bought out for the n’th time the punters still stay the same. As generations die out they might be different in terms of their behaviours, dress sense and tastes but ultimately they’re still local people using an amenity. Names can change, focus will likely shift from wet to dry sales and cultural trends a pub was once famous for might die out.

This is very much the case here. If you never visited the previous incarnation as The Albion it was a brilliant warts n’ all football boozer run by a West Bromwich Albion fan, proudly sporting the famous throstle badge on the facade. It was a tiny pub rammed for live games and had a brilliant atmosphere. Most live matches, with the fixture line up for the day announced on a booming pub microphone, were shown on the box so it was a meeting place for football fans all over London.

Sadly that came to an end. In a constantly evolving city things never stay the same and no matter what, a pub is always better open than closed. Nothing saddens me more than seeing a pub that was a successful and valued business turned into flats when it had decades more life left in it. This cultural erosion cannot continue and although CAMRA, Long Live The Local, some Boroughs and individual campaigners do sterling work central Government must do more to secure protection. We are fast seeing areas without any social outlets and that is surely the death of a community. It must stop.

When I heard that East London pub retainers Remarkable Pubs had bought the freehold I knew the pub was in excellent hands for the long haul. Their  sympathetic and legendary refurbishments see all buildings history retained and, for some of their properties, a return to a more traditional public house. I was sad to see it’s previous incarnation The Albion close but let’s not forget it wasn’t always the Albion and in the not too distant past some old school indigenous Cockney faces of the Manor, who had generations of their family drink here, would have taken umbrage that their Duke of Sussex was changing into a sports pub.

The New Virgin Queen is welcoming the minute you cross the threshold with dark wood panelling, a roaring fire and a strong billing on draft and hand pump. The food focus is Fish with the signature Remarkable open Kitchen which is always a pleasing sight - there is something right in the world when you can see your food being cooked. This is the perfect place to have a bite and sink a few, especially if the weather is poor outside. Aesthetically, the bolted on conservatory takes a bit of getting used to, as it replaced a tiny courtyard, and does make the building look a little lob-sided. Otherwise the mock Tudor timbers remain.

I was warmly welcomed and looked after by the friendly and knowledgeable staff and look forward to many future visits. It’s going to be great in the Summer on Saturdays when Broadway Market is at full tilt and thirsty punters spill out onto the street.

Although witnessing a different dawn in the backstreets of the East End the pub is moving with the times to meet the requirements of a new population but still retaining consistent elements of the past with fine service, an intimate atmosphere and a genuine warm East London welcome.