Engraved portrait of Catherine “Kate” Eddowes (1842–1888)

Remembering Kate

Her name belongs above the door.

Catherine Eddowes was known as Kate. Born in Wolverhampton in 1842 and brought up in London, she was a mother of three, a sister and a working woman whose life was shaped by the hardships of Victorian Britain.

There are glimpses of the person she was. At the inquest into her death, a man who had known her for seven years remembered her as “a very jolly woman, always singing”. Her sister recalled Kate visiting when she was ill. These are small details, but they bring a person into view: someone with a voice, relationships and a place in other people’s lives.

In the early hours of 30 September 1888, Kate was murdered in Mitre Square, beside where our pub stands today. She was 46.

For generations, the story has been dominated by the man who killed her. His notoriety has travelled around the world. Her life has too often been reduced to a place in a sequence: the fourth victim.

She was Kate. Her life mattered before that night, and her name deserves to be remembered now.

We have named our pub The Catherine Eddowes to honour her. A pub name is spoken, written, passed between friends and woven into the daily life of a neighbourhood. Here, in the City where her life was taken, hers will be spoken again.

Violence against women did not end with Victorian London. Remembering Kate also means recognising the women whose lives are still cut short, and the person behind every name in the news. Each had a life that mattered. Each deserves to be remembered.

Our tribute begins with a simple act: putting Catherine’s name above our door.

Catherine “Kate” Eddowes
1842–1888

Our Story

Two school friends. A proper family business.

We’re Martin Hayes and Peter Slezak. Martin was born and bred in Pimlico, and we met at school in Battersea when we were eleven. Thirty-five years later, we’re still friends, and the pub business we founded together is still proudly independent.

Our story in pubs began with CASK Pub and Kitchen, which opened in Pimlico in the summer of 2009. In 2011, we established The Craft Beer Co., a family-owned and operated business built around a shared belief: London deserves proper pubs, full of character, serving drinks worth seeking out.

London is where our story began. The Catherine Eddowes is its next chapter.

We take our pubs personally. We choose what goes behind the bar and champion producers we believe in. Hospitality and good service are at the heart of it all: a warm welcome and people who take pride in looking after you. Our independence gives us the freedom to do things our way, and our family ownership gives us a very personal reason to care.

When you visit The Catherine Eddowes, you’re supporting a business built on 35 years of friendship, with roots in this city and people behind it who are proud to call it their own.

Come and Find Us
The snug at The Catherine Eddowes, with its vintage Allsopp’s ales mirror and green leather banquette