Phil Mellows recalls his heavy metal experiences of the 1970s as one of Stratford’s oldest pubs comes back to life

When I started working – and drinking – in Stratford in the mid-1970s, little did I realise that rock history was being made at the pub on the corner.

That noise blasting out from the Cart & Horses by Maryland Point was, likely as not, Leyton’s soon-to-be legendary heavy-metal combo Iron Maiden, playing their very first gigs.

It’s a memory that’s been preserved as the pub reopened in March after being closed for nearly three years. Maiden memorabilia decorate the walls and a new live music venue has opened in the basement.

There is even a range of Iron Maiden’s own bottled beers behind the bar – in recent years lead singer Bruce Dickinson has pursued his other passion, creating ale recipes with Stockport brewer Frederic Robinson.

For the owner of the Cart & Horses, Kastro Pergjoni, this is about “securing the history of the pub. It’s not a big money-making venture. It’s important for local people to have this”.

Kastro with Iron Maiden pictured during their residency at the Cart & Horses in 1975-76

Kastro has held the lease on the pub since 2016, always intending to refurbish it and restore its heritage as ‘the birthplace of Iron Maiden’. It closed for the work in the summer of 2019 but delays and then Covid meant the scheme didn’t come to fruition until now.

Live dates in the basement are filling up with bands booked for the weekends and an open mic night on Thursdays. The pub is looking for entertainment ideas for the rest of the week.

Food will be available soon, with pizzas, burgers and a Sunday roast on the menu.

Since the reopening, Kastro has been “amazed” at the support the revived Cart & Horses has had from the locals.

“They’ve waited so long for this, and they love it. At last it’s somewhere they can call home. People are saying it’s a 21^st Century pub with the feel of the 19^th Century, and that’s exactly what we wanted.”

Indeed, the history of the Cart & Horses goes much further back than heavy rock. From 1765, the original pub of that name was on the site of what is now Wetherspoon’s Goldengrove, before moving to Maryland Point in 1880.

The earliest recorded licensee was called James Brown – but, no, probably not that one.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.