Before I left Plumstead last weekend to move into my new flat, I had to take a few photos of this pub that caught my eye every time I walked past it for its unusual name: The Who’d ‘a’ Thought It
And, of course, the outdoor food stand, “Who’d a Caught It”.
Creative.
What’s the most amusing pub name you’ve seen in London?
Where was it?
Little London Observationist 
Oh my gosh! I walked past this yesterday and thought ‘it’s too bad she’s already moved, this pub would be quirky for her blog!’ I paused to read the sign too!
Your aunt is in a cute area of plumstead!
OH MY GOSH!!! This is my Great Grandfathers Pub!! My Dad just showed me an old post card of it and I thought I’d put it in Google to see if I could find out more!!!! WOW I can’t beleive it is still there! I am in Canada. Thanks so much for posting this picture you touched my heart today.
Oh wow! I’m so glad you found this! How cool is that? He must have been a creative guy to give it a name like that. Do you know how he came up with it? The people who work there now are very friendly 🙂
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The Who’d a Thought It belonged to my great-grandmother at one point. Eliza Collins, I think her name was. The story about the name of the pub, as my grandmother Lydia told it, was that the family spent many hours trying to think up a good name for the pub, but were unsuccessful. Finally one of them said “Well, who’d a thought it!” and they decided that was the right name for the pub.
The parents of Eliza Collins (nee Hopgood) ran the pub before that. They were Robert and Eliza Hopgood. They were certainly in the pub in 1851. The Hopgoods are an old family in Plumstead and were responsible for building the cottages in the picture. At certain points, that section of Timbercroft Lane was known as Hopgood Lane and Hopgood Place. They were still in Timbercroft Lane until the 90s. I knew “Auntie” Edie Bannister (nee Hopgood) all my life until her death. The sign had always been (until a football shirt and a tacky flying pig replaced it) a rocket going to the moon – with Jules Verne and the like being so popular in Victorian times.
Above comment from a different Deborah 🙂