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Camden New Journal - SPECIAL REPORT by NEW JOURNAL TEAM
Published: 21 February 2008

Former publican Hazel Pitman with her daughter Joanne outside the demolished Carnarvon Castle

‘We made the old Carnarvon a real pub – that’s what it should be again’

ALTHOUGH in its later years the Carnarvon Castle music pub may have become little more than a relic to its glory years, former publican Hazel Pitman remembers the good times.
This week she visited what’s left of the Camden High Street pub after it was demolished for safety reasons last Tuesday – a victim of the fire that ripped through Camden Town.
Mrs Pitman ran the Carnarvon – later renamed the Caernarvon after its Welsh roots – with her husband David from 1975 to 1982. Her family lived above the pub.
Under their stewardship the bar flourished, attracting crowds of around 300 at weekends as well as the odd celebrity punter including actor Bob Hoskins, singer Harry Nilsson, rockers The Clash and Soho great George Melly.
“The Clash used to drink a cider, pernot and blackcurrent drink called Jellybean and get absolutely smashed, but they were very nice,” said Mrs Pitman of the 1970s punk band. “Harry Nilsson told us he needed a complete orchestra behind him to play, although I think he was drunk when he said that. He gave my husband his whiskey flask as a gift.”
The Carnarvon also became a favourite after work watering hole for traders of the fledgling market scene, which had just 30 stalls at the time. It later became a live music venue that regularly staged music acts, even attracting a young Sting.
Mrs Pitman added: “I could never understand why nobody could make a success of it considering its location. We made it a real pub – that’s what it should be again.”
But she was in no doubt about Camden’s wider success: “It’s a better place – it’s much more alive. Considering it was just an ordinary street, it’s amazing to think it evolved from two to three dozen stalls to what it is today.”
Her daughter, Joanne Pitman, who used to watch the trains as they rolled by her bedroom window, said: “It’s a shame the Carnarvon has gone, it was a big part of our lives. I’m sure what’s going to replace it will be very shiny and new – probably nicer than the Carnarvon – but that’s not what Camden is about.”

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