Dorothy’s: Camberwell’s New Lesbian Pub Rises From Rotten Joists
A Tired Camberwell Pub Gets a Second Life
Anyone who has walked past the old pub on a Camberwell side street will know it has seen better days. Its tired frontage has sat quietly for a while, but behind the boarded windows, something new is taking shape. Beth White and Molly McCabe are converting the building into Dorothy’s, a bar aimed squarely at lesbians and sapphic women, and they want it to be a permanent fixture rather than a pop-up. For south London, where dedicated queer women’s venues have been scarce for years, that matters. Readers in Richmond, Whitton or Hounslow who have had to travel into central London for a night among women know the drill: long journeys, uncertain welcomes and bars where the crowd is rarely theirs. A neighbourhood venue on the doorstep changes that calculation. The name is a deliberate nod to the Gateways Club, the world’s longest-running lesbian bar, which closed in 1985. Its password for entry was ‘Dorothy’, and the founders say they wanted to quietly honour the women who kept such spaces alive when being visible was far riskier. It is a reminder that the freedom to hold a partner’s hand in a pub is recent history, and that it was fought for.
Two Founders, a Big Dream and a Lot of Building Work
Beth and Molly have spent years talking about owning a pub, first separately and then together, usually over a glass of wine at their local. Earlier this year they stopped talking and started signing things. Both come from film and television, an industry that has shifted considerably in recent years, and they say it felt like the right moment to change direction. The building has proved a bigger job than anyone bargained for. The lease was taken as seen, and the couple have uncovered a series of problems hidden beneath decades of bodged repairs. Under two layers of laminate in the main bar, there was no floor in some areas, and most of the joists were rotten. The beer drop outside was held up by a couple of breeze blocks, the site has no gas connection, and the electrics run on a single phase. Leaks from upstairs, failing plumbing and sinks draining onto a damp, mouldy cellar floor added to the list. Electrician Char is carrying out the full rewire, which the pair had expected. Much of the other work has been carried out by volunteers, and the founders say the support has been overwhelming, from hundreds of offers of help to a financial contribution from European Sperm Bank, which the founders praised for backing LGBTQ+ families beyond conception.
What Local Women Can Do Now and What to Watch Next
For readers who want to be part of this, the most immediate route is volunteering. The team has been running clearing and painting days, and a room can transform quickly when enough hands turn up. Following Dorothy’s on Instagram is the best way to hear about the next volunteer day, and the founders say they have been reading every message and comment that has come in. Those planning a visit once the doors open should also keep an eye on the practical details, which will be announced as the work progresses. Independent venue owners across London will tell you that the unglamorous side, such as keeping accounts clean, paying suppliers on time and managing a budget that stretches across renovation and opening costs, is as demanding as the design. Anyone in Hounslow or elsewhere who has run a small business will recognise the pressure, and it is worth remembering that a venue like this depends on regulars as much as on its launch night. Over the coming months, watch for three milestones: completion of the rewire and structural repairs, confirmation of the opening date, and the first events that show what a permanent south London lesbian space can become. For a community that has spent years complaining about the lack of such places, this is the moment to show up.
Source: “We’re Opening A Lesbian Pub In South London”
