Bellingham pub Henry Cooper used as training base before Muhammad Ali fight all set for reopening

A pub which served as a training base for heavyweight boxer Henry Cooper ahead of his famous bout with Muhammad Ali in 1963 is about to get its official re-opening. 

The Grade II Fellowship Inn in Randlesdown Road, Bellingham closed in March 2020 because of the pandemic lockdowns.

But next Wednesday, the Mayor of Lewisham, Damien Egan, will cut the ribbon to welcome back residents from the Bellingham, Catford South, Downham and Grove Park communities. 

The Fellowship Inn was built in the 1920s as the first ever pub on a London housing estate. It was part of a ‘Homes for Heroes’ development to ease inner-city overcrowding following the First World War. 

The building had two bars, a 200-seater dance and music hall, a 2,260ft function room, which often hosted wedding receptions, an off-licence and family accommodation across two floors.

The pub, which will celebrate its centenary next year, hosted gigs for world-famous bands including Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and The Yardbirds in the 1960s. 

The pub fell on hard times, however, and faced demolition, but it relaunched in February 2019 after Phoenix Community Housing – a resident-led housing association overseeing 8,000 homes in the area – restored the pub following a successful Heritage Lottery Fund bid for £4 million.  

Phoenix has welcomed new operators – Homegrown – to take over the running of the pub, which features a cinema, theatre, café, and restored music rehearsal space. 

Phoenix Community Housing chief executive, Denise Fowler, said: “We’re proud of the heritage of Bellingham and the Fellowship plays a vital role in that history. 

“We’re pleased to welcome Homegrown as the new pub operator and create a space for people in the community to connect socially again. Reopening The Fellowship as a thriving community venue is essential to Phoenix’s ambitions to regenerate Bellingham and the surrounding wards in Lewisham.” 

Homegrown currently operate one other pub in north London with a focus on reviving historic pubs with the community to create social hubs in the local area. 

Co-founder of Homegrown, Tom Rees, said: “We have had a really enjoyable year rebuilding a pub for the community at The Carlton Tavern [in Maida Vale].

“We are convinced there is a similar passion and appetite in Bellingham to put the Fellowship Inn at the heart of the community.” 

Pictured top: The Fellowship Inn (Pictures: Phoenix Community Housing)