East London residents have told of their “shock and horror” of living next to a riotous and chaotic medieval banquet hall which kept them awake at night.
Residents in Wapping described how noisy drunken “revellers” caused carnage on a regular basis at the banquet hall.
Often keeping residents awake with noise, smoke, and covering the area with litter and vomit.
One resident said that the novelty medieval venue was so awful it reduced her to tears and forced her to move away from her home in St Katherine’s Docks.
Another who had lived in the town for 20 years said that the spectacle of rowdy groups in period costume contributed to the rise in anti-social behaviour there.
The Medieval Banquet was an immersive dining hall near the Tower of London set in 1529 with a cast of medieval characters.
Entertainments included the court of Henry VIII, performing jesters and knights in full armour doing battle on the dining room floor.
Guests were able to dress up in medieval costume and enjoy a four-course meal and drinks as they watched the festivities.
The Medieval Banquet closed down in November 2020 after over 40 years.
The owners of the building are now applying to renew their licence to bring something new to the site.
Residents in St Katherine’s Docks have reacted furiously to the application and called on the council to reject it.
One person who lived directly above the exit to the banquet hall said: “I remember so clearly my very first night in my flat when I had bought it, to my absolute shock and horror when I was subjected to hours of cigarette smoke wafting up and into my bedroom window.
“Then at the event's closing, having to endure around 30 minutes of rowdy, drunken guests exiting the premises with no regard to the peace and tranquillity of the dock and no regard to the residents sleeping in the flats above.
“I so clearly remember crying in bed that very first night as I had been completely unaware of how disruptive The Medieval Banquet was… I felt I had made a huge mistake.”
The banquet hall was part of the Ivory House building in the middle of the docks, which is shared with a number of flats.
Another annoyed local said: “The front of my home regularly echoes to the sound of rowdy alcohol-fuelled groups wandering about the dock in the early hours of the morning.
“I am beginning to dread the warmer months, which brings [an] increase in visitors under the influence of alcohol or drugs to our neighbourhood.”
A resident of St Katherine's Docks added that they had been abused by drunken customers when trying to get into their flat.
They said: “I am forced to pass through large groups and request that people step away from the gate so that I might gain access.
“I have experienced abuse, insults, numerous comments about ‘having a yacht’ and have frequently felt threatened.
“The area around the marina entrance is frequently fouled with vomit, broken glass and urine.”
Writing to the council for a new licence, the venue’s owners said that it would serve a different purpose in future with less negative impact on residents.
They said: “Themed nights are no longer in vogue and the space is also too large for a conventional restaurant or bar.
“Finally, an experienced events operator, Best Experienced Live (“BEL”), is close to exchanging contracts on the premises.”
They added: “Unlike a banquet with a fixed start and finish where guests tend to arrive and leave en masse at the same time, people attending exhibitions, corporate events, markets etc tend to arrive and leave in dribs and drabs.
“Whilst there will be some events where guests will generally arrive and leave at set times, they will not be in the same high spirits as those attending a medieval banquet”
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