It’s nearly over at the Dover, with tributes pouring in for the beloved student pub.
Dover Castle, a revered pub in Borough that has been a stomping ground for King’s students for the best part of two decades, will close permanently when its lease ends in early October.
In a post on Instagram, Dover Castle, known colloquially as ‘DC’, confirmed its closure with a heartfelt message. The post read, in part, that DC had “stopped being a student bar a long time ago,” and had since blossomed into a place where people met their best friends, started relationships, celebrated graduating, and returned to the pub “years later like they’d never been away.”
The pub, which sits directly below the Dover Castle Hostel, is a short walk from Guy’s Campus and both Borough and London Bridge stations. It opened 17 years ago and has served King’s students until 2 am, seven nights a week, ever since.
Among King’s students, DC is best known for its Wednesday Sports Nights, a fixture for KCL’s sports clubs. An array of King’s sports clubs’ kits are displayed on the walls as a testament to the KCL links.
In a 2024 article, the newspaper Time Out ranked the DC as the number one student night out in London, describing it as a mix of an Irish pub, a sports bar and a student local, with drinks that rarely exceed £4 a round.
Speaking to Roar, regular attendee and King’s master’s student Alex, a member of the KCL Regents, said:
“The bar staff were always incredibly nice and remembered their regulars. Their pub quiz was a staple of the late spring and summer for me. Sad to see them closing because the people are amazing and the location was so convenient.”
In an exclusive statement DC said:
“We’re obviously incredibly sad to be closing the Dover Castle after 17 years. It’s been much more than a pub to us, and King’s students have been a huge part of its identity over that time. We’ve watched generations of KCL students come through the doors — sports teams, societies, freshers and people who just made the Dover their local!
“The banter between KCL and GKT sports teams was a joy to watch. Some of the students we knew years ago still come back to see us when they’re in London, which says a lot about the place and the friendships and memories that have been made here. The amount of people that came to me yesterday saying they met in Dover 5/10/15 years ago and now married with kids is insane. Two of which were last week believe or not.
“The reaction since we announced the closure has honestly been overwhelming. Seeing so many people sharing the news, commenting with memories and even talking about petitions has reminded us just how much the Dover has meant to people.”
DC asked regulars to visit before the pub’s closure and give it a fantastic send-off. Roar strongly encourages readers to do the same.
The pub also mentioned the much loved Bouncer, Joe:
“Big shout out to my bouncer Joe who has been with us the whole journey and has Dover blood and all the Kings staff over the years and especially Ethan, Liv and all the staff with us now.”
Roar’s talk with the owner concluded with:
“Who knows we might relocate one day but for now it’s the end and thanks very much for everything.”
On behalf of Roar, we thank you too DC.
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