"Montfort. The pub was built in 1894 on the site of an inn which had been established before 1654, and named after the legend of Henry de Montfort, a son of Simon de Montfort. In 1865, William Booth preached his first open-air sermon outside the Blind Beggar, which led to the establishment of the East London Christian Mission, later to become the Salvation Army. William Booth is commemorated by a nearby statue. The Blind Beggar is notorious for its connection to East End gangsters the Kray twins. On 9 March 1966, Ronnie Kray shot and murdered George Cornell, an associate"
"Camberwell New Cemetery, south London. On 4 March 1969, Ronnie Kray was unanimously found guilty by a jury at the Old Bailey of the murder of George Cornell. His brother Reggie was also found guilty of murdering Jack McVitie, who was killed the year after Cornell. They were both sentenced to life imprisonment. Ronnie Kray died in jail in March 1995, while Reggie Kray was imprisoned for a total of 32 years before he was released from custody on compassionate grounds in August 2000 as a result of cancer, from which he died a few weeks after his release. George"
"death, which was in 2000. Ronnie Kray was imprisoned for life at the same time for the murder of George Cornell in 1966 and remained behind bars until his death in 1995. McVitie married Marie Marney in Surrey in 1950. He fathered one son who was named Tony McVitie. The nickname ""Jack the Hat"" is said to be because of a trilby hat that he wore to cover up his hair loss. A known drug trafficker by the 1960s, he had been an associate of the Kray twins for some time and, although never a permanent member of ""The Firm"","
"club in the—at the time—very disreputable area of West London known as Notting Hill. He was acquitted amid talk of ""jury nobbling"" and interference with witnesses, but the following year was accused of Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH), convicted and sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment. It was at the Astor in December 1965 that the infamous East End (East London) Kray twins had a confrontation with the South London criminals known as the Richardson Gang; during that face-off, the gangster George Cornell is said to have referred to Ronnie Kray as a ""fat poofter"" (in another version, ""a big fat poof""),"
"walked straight to Cornell and shot him in the head in public view. Barrie, confused by what happened, fired five shots in the air warning the public not to report what had happened to the police. Just before he was shot, Cornell remarked, ""Well, look who's here."" He died at 3:00am in hospital. Ronnie Kray was already suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the killing. According to some sources, Ronnie killed Cornell because Cornell referred to Ronnie as a ""fat poof"" (a derogatory term for gay men) during a confrontation between the Krays and the Richardson gang at"
"Two plays were produced in the 1970s that were based on thinly-veiled versions of the Krays: Kray twins Ronald ""Ronnie"" Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald ""Reggie"" Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000), identical twin brothers, were English criminals, the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London during the 1950s and 1960s. With their gang, known as ""The Firm"", the Krays were involved in murder, armed robbery, arson, protection rackets and assaults. As West End nightclub owners, the Krays mixed with politicians and prominent entertainers such as Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland."
"Kray twins Ronald ""Ronnie"" Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald ""Reggie"" Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000), identical twin brothers, were English criminals, the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London during the 1950s and 1960s. With their gang, known as ""The Firm"", the Krays were involved in murder, armed robbery, arson, protection rackets and assaults. As West End nightclub owners, the Krays mixed with politicians and prominent entertainers such as Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. In the 1960s, they became celebrities, being photographed by David Bailey and interviewed on television. The"
"the Krays were working for Jay Murray from Liverpool and were involved in hijacking, armed robbery and arson, through which they acquired other clubs and properties. In 1960, Ronnie Kray was imprisoned for 18 months for running a protection racket and related threats. While Ronnie was in prison, Peter Rachman, head of a violent landlord operation, gave Reggie a nightclub called Esmeralda's Barn on the Knightsbridge end of Wilton Place next to a bistro called Joan's Kitchen. The location is where the Berkeley Hotel now stands. This increased the Krays' influence in the West End by making them celebrities as"
"took out a 9 mm Luger, and calmly shot him once in the top of the forehead, above his right eye. The men turned and departed to a waiting car on the street. Cornell slumped against a nearby pillar, the bullet, apparently, passing straight through him. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died at around 3:30am. The news spread rapidly. Although Ronnie Kray was identified by several eyewitnesses as he calmly left the public house, no one would agree to testify against him and the police were forced to release him from custody. Cornell was buried in"
"and tooth removals, he said that it was ""all false... Today, we wouldn't have even been charged, let alone gone to prison."" The Richardson gang and the Kray twins were engaged in a turf war in the mid- to late 1960s. Charlie Richardson and George Cornell had first met the Krays while in Shepton Mallet Prison. Tensions came to a head in 1965–66. During a Christmas party at the Astor Club in December 1965, Cornell called Ronnie Kray a ""fat poof"" and a fight ensued. On 7 or 8 March 1966, Richard Hart, one of the Krays's associates, was shot"
"of George Cornell; 5. The Truth about the Mad Axman (i.e. Frank Mitchell); 7. The Trial and the Traitors; 10. Life in Broadmoor ... 'Without my drugs I go mad'; and 12. Poetry and Painting. According to a later edition, Ron Kray died in Broadmoor Hospital in 1995, while Reg was released on compassionate grounds in 2000, only to die of cancer in that October. Reg Kray approached their ghostwriter Dinenage to help them tell their story, because Reggie had admired the journalist's Television South's sports and documentary programmes. Our Story (book) Our Story is an autobiographical book by Ronnie"
"Keith Simpson (pathologist) Cedric Keith Simpson, CBE, FRCP, FRCPath, (20 July 1907 – 21 July 1985) was an English forensic pathologist. He was Professor of Forensic Medicine in the University of London at Guy's Hospital, Lecturer in Forensic Medicine at the University of Oxford and a founder member and President of the Association of Forensic Medicine. Professor Simpson became renowned for his post-mortems on high-profile murder cases, including the 1949 Acid Bath Murders committed by John George Haigh and the murder of gangster George Cornell, who was shot dead by Ronnie Kray in 1966. He pioneered forensic dentistry, and was"
"should not be less than thirty years."" In March 1969, both were sentenced to life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 30 years for the murders of Cornell and McVitie, the longest sentences ever passed at the Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court, London) for murder. Their brother Charlie was imprisoned for ten years for his part in the murders. Ronnie and Reggie Kray were allowed, under tight security, to attend the funeral of their mother Violet at Chingford Mount Cemetery in East London on 11 August 1982 after her death from cancer. They were not allowed to attend her burial"
"the Philadelphia crime family who, on behalf of Meyer Lansky and the American Mafia, wants to interest them in a crime syndicate deal. Bruno agrees to a fifty-fifty deal with Reggie to split London's underground gambling profits in exchange for local protection from the Kray brothers. Initially, this system is highly lucrative for the Kray brothers. Ron's barely concealed volatility results in him publicly murdering George Cornell, an associate of the Torture Gang, rivals of the Krays. Scotland Yard, as a result, opens a full investigation of the Kray brothers. Reggie beats and rapes Frances and she leaves him. Reggie"
"called ""The Crown"". Brandwood and Jephcote describe it as ""a truly magnificent pub-cum-hotel"" with ""superb fittings"", including extensive use of marble. The architect was Charles Worley. In 1987, the pub's name was changed to Crocker's Folly. The story was that Frank Crocker built the pub to serve the new terminus of the Great Central Railway, but when the terminus was actually built it was over half a mile away at Marylebone Station, leading to Crocker's ruin, despair and eventual suicide. In reality, Crocker did die in 1904, aged only 41, but of natural causes. It has been claimed that Crocker's"
"was bound with chicken wire, weighted down and dumped in the English Channel. Reg Kray cited springing Mitchell from prison as one of his biggest mistakes. In 1968, the Krays and various accomplices were arrested and put on trial for an array of offences, including the murders of George Cornell, Jack McVitie and Frank Mitchell. Their attempt to cajole gang member Albert Donoghue into confessing to killing Mitchell led to him becoming a crown witness and testifying against them. Ron, Reg and Charlie Kray and Freddie Foreman were all acquitted of Mitchell's murder, due to lack of evidence and the"
"sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation that they should each serve a minimum of 30 years. Ronnie's murder conviction was for the murder of rival gangster, George Cornell, whom he shot dead in March 1966. The jury took 6 hours and 55 minutes to reach their unanimous verdict. Never before at the Old Bailey had such a long and expensive trial taken place. The Krays' elder brother Charlie, together with Freddie Foreman (who helped move the body) and Cornelius Whitehead, were all found guilty of being accessories to McVitie's murder. Prison seemed to do much to encourage the myth"
"the twins out of fear. Upon also finding out the twins intended to cajole him, 'Scotch Jack' Dickson also turned in everything he knew about Cornell's murder. Although not a witness to the actual murder he was an accessory, having driven Ronnie Kray and Ian Barrie to the pub. The police still needed an actual witness to the murder. They then managed to track down the barmaid who was working in the pub at the time, gave her a secret identity and she testified to seeing Ronnie killing Cornell. Frank Mitchell's escape and disappearance was much harder to obtain evidence"
"recording studio at 304 Holloway Road, Islington, in North London. Police in the Oliver investigation announced their intent to interview all of the homosexual men in London. This would have included Meek, following a 1963 conviction for “importuning for immoral purposes” in a public toilet. Some accounts claim that Meek was afraid of being questioned. It was rumoured that Oliver had worked as a tape-stacker in Meek's studio. On 3 February 1967, Meek killed himself after murdering his landlady, Violet Shenton. Reginald Kray (24 October 1933 – 1 October 2000) was a gangster from the East End of London, sentenced"
"convicted associate of the Kray twins, later wrote that, despite the restrictive door policy at Sibylla's, ""I always welcome at the club"" due to O'Leary's presence. In October 1966, Macdonald, who was suffering from depression, died after jumping from a rooftop in west London. Author Steve Turner describes him as an early casualty among London's psychedelic drug users, at a time when the full psychological effects of LSD were not widely known. Tara Browne, who was a regular at the club in the company of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, died after crashing his sports car into a parked"
"London. The money from Humble Pie's farewell tour soon ran out, and Marriott was reduced to stealing vegetables from a field next to his home. He went on to form the Steve Marriott Allstars with ex-Pie bassist Greg Ridley, drummer Ian Wallace and ex-Heavy Metal Kids' guitarist Mickey Finn, and found a new manager, Laurie O'Leary. In the 1980s O'Leary asked Marriott to meet a friend of his, the infamous Ronnie Kray, who was incarcerated in Broadmoor Hospital for the murder of George Cornell. Marriott gave him a signed photo. After the departure of Mick Taylor in 1975 from the"
"to life imprisonment along with his brother Ronald in 1969 for the murders of George Cornell and Jack McVitie. In September 2000, Kray confessed to a previously unknown murder while being interviewed for the BBC documentary ""Reggie Kray: The Final Word"". A former cellmate of Kray’s, Pete Gillett, claimed that Kray had also confessed the murder to him, and that the victim was “a young gay boy”. It has been suggested that this is a reference to Oliver's murder, although the confession is widely believed to relate to the disappearance of Edward “Mad Teddy” Smith in 1967. The Kray brothers"
"cannon."" Arriving at Payne's home, McVitie hammered loudly on the front door, which luckily for Payne was opened by his wife. ""He's not in,"" she said. ""That's all right,"" said McVitie and he and Exley left. Instead of repaying the money McVitie kept it. This incident led, in part, to McVitie's death. On 29 October 1967, McVitie was invited to a party in Evering Road in Stoke Newington, London, with several of his underworld associates and their families. The Krays had secretly arrived at the party first and had spent an hour clearing away guests. Reggie Kray's initial plan to"
"1960. Born Fighter Born Fighter is an autobiographical book written by Reginald Kray. In 1969 he and his twin brother Ronnie Kray received life sentences for the murders of George Cornell and Jack McVitie. First published in London in 1990 in hardback by Century and paperback in 1991 by subsidiary Arrow Books. Reggie Kray wrote several successful books while incarcerated in high security prison as a ""Category A"" prisoner for 30 years (of those, 18 years in Parkhurst Prison). The book gives a first-hand account of Reggie's life as one half of the most notorious underworld gangsters in the 1950s"
"Humphreys was under investigation by another squad, and Drury refused to acknowledge his association with Humphreys even after Drury reportedly received a ""Wish you were here"" holiday postcard from him. Cornell was originally a member of an East End gang called ""The Watney Streeters"" and later became involved with the Krays. However, he changed sides around 1964 and allied himself with the Richardsons. Cornell was unstable, unpredictable and nearly caused an all-out war between the two gangs before his death when Ronnie Kray shot and killed him in 1966. Frankie Fraser teamed up with the Richardson gang in the mid-1960s."
"of a rival gang, the Richardsons, as he was sitting at the bar. The murder took place in the then saloon bar. The pub is also a popular starting point for the Monopoly Pub Crawl, despite being located on the board's third space. The pub was frequented by Harry Redknapp and was owned by Bobby Moore at one stage. The freehold ownership of the pub was sold at Allsop auction on 17 May 2010, the buyers being a family of Indian descent who previously owned a casino in Whitechapel at the time of the Krays. In the Blind Beggar legend,"
"ghost haunts the pub. The building is now an upmarket gastropub and restaurant, with accommodation on the upper floors. He married Agnes Cooper on 16 December 1893 at St Bartholomew, Dalston, east London. Frank Crocker died on 24 October 1904 at the Crown Hotel (now Crocker's Folly). Frank Crocker Frank Crocker (18 January 1863 - 24 October 1904) was a British publican, owner of the Crown Hotel in St John's Wood, London, renamed Crocker's Folly in 1987 in his honour. Frank Crocker was born on 18 January 1863 in Fair Field, Newton Abbot, Devon, the son of Francis Crocker and"
"and the Pervert Peer"" (2009), showed that Ronnie Kray was a rapist of men. The programme also detailed his relationship with Conservative peer Bob Boothby as well as an ongoing ""Daily Mirror"" investigation into Lord Boothby's dealings with the Kray brothers. Ronnie died on 17 March 1995 at the age of 61 at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, Berkshire. He had suffered a heart attack at Broadmoor Hospital two days earlier. Reggie was allowed out of prison in handcuffs to attend the funeral. During his incarceration, Reggie Kray became a born-again Christian. He was freed from Wayland on 26 August"
"""The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"", drank at The Baron of Beef also, according to an interview on ""The South Bank Show"". The Baron of Beef The Baron of Beef is a pub in Bridge Street, Cambridge, England, owned by Bob Jones. Michael Peacock, columnist of the ""Town Crier"", gave his former paper, the ""Daily Mirror"", a story about Chris Curry and Clive Sinclair having a fight there. This was allegedly over Curry's decision to leave Sinclair to join Hermann Hauser to establish Acorn Computers in competition with Sinclair's ZX80 microcomputer. This was dramatised in the 2009 BBC Four television"
"the side of law and order. Whilst in prison, the Krays had come up with a plan, which included Scotch Jack Dickson to confess to the murder of Cornell, Ronnie Hart to take the McVitie and Albert Donoghue to stand for Mitchell. Donoghue told the twins directly that he wasn't prepared to be cajoled into pleading guilty, to the anger of the twins. He then informed Read via his mother, who set up another interview in secret and Donoghue was the first to tell the police everything that he knew. Ronnie Hart had initially not been arrested, and was not"
"My Story (Kray book) My Story is an autobiographical book written by Ronnie Kray. He, along with his twin brother Reggie, were said to be some of the most feared gangsters in British history. Originally published in hardback 1993 by Sidgwick & Jackson, it was re-published in paperback on 7 October 1994 by Pan Books part of Macmillan Publishers. This book is the follow-up to the jointly written ""Our Story"" (1988) by both Ronnie and Reggie Kray. In ""My Story"", Ronnie describes in his own words the murders of Jack ""the Hat"" McVitie and George Cornell, his bisexuality, and his"
"lying piled on top of each other on the floor"". The dead were Adrian Rogan (34), Malcolm Jenkinson (52), Barney Green (87), Daniel McCreanor (59), Patrick O'Hare (35) and Eamon Byrne (39), all Catholic civilians. O'Hare was the brother-in-law of Eamon Byrne and Green was one of the oldest people to be killed during the Troubles. The UVF claimed responsibility within hours of the attack. It claimed that an Irish republican meeting was being held in the pub and that the shooting was retaliation for the INLA attack. Police said there is no evidence the pub had links to republican"
"including Ben Elton as Judas Iscariot. In 2001, after he sold his percentage in Up The Creek, Hardee took over a floating pub, The Wibbley Wobbley, on a converted Rhine pleasure cruiser in Greenland Dock, Rotherhithe, by the River Thames. On 2 February 2005, Hardee's body was recovered from Greenland Dock, after he was reported missing from The Wibbley Wobbley on 31 January; he had been last seen late-night on 30 January. A post-mortem soon confirmed he had drowned. In an inquest at Southwark Coroner's Court on 20 July, Coroner John Sampson recorded a verdict of accidental death. It had"