THE historic Railway Hotel dates back hundreds of years and has attracted some very famous faces in the past.

It dates back to the 1800s when Nelson Street and this part of the city was originally designed as the estate’s shopping arcade.

We look back at the history as a campaign is under way to safeguard and protect a beloved and long-standing music venue and pub by naming it as an “asset of community value”. 

James Vessey-Miller, a former employee at the Railway Hotel in Clifftown Road, Southend, wants Southend Council to name the landmark pub as an “asset of community value” and to add it to the council’s list of historic buildings. 

The hotel and pub - which would become very well known for live music and entertainment - was built shortly before 1872.

It remains part of the Clifftown Conservation Area.

The three-storey Victorian building was given an extensive refit by Charrington Brewery in the inter-war years.

The venue has still got the original bar counter and English oak bar top, bar back fitting, panelled walls, and parquet floor.

English guitarist Wilko Johnson, David Bowie and Iggy Pop collaborator Geoff MacCormack, and Teenage Fanclub drummer Brendan O’Hare have been known to attend the pub regularly.

Then in 2007, Southend musician Dave Dulake and his wife Fi relaunched the venue with a £50,000 refurbishment.

In 2019, the Railway won the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame Certificate for five consecutive years of top marks from reviewers.