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This pub is associated with a tradition of ministerial whitebait dinners which began in the late 18th century. The meal would take place at or near the end of the parliamentary session. It wasn't geographically fixed, having taken place in Dagenham, then Blackwall and then this pub in Greenwich. By the late 19th century it was annual, and scheduled for Trinity Monday. From Mike Rendell: "These political gatherings lasted until 1883 – when Prime Minister William Gladstone held the last one at the Trafalgar Tavern. Ministers were carried from Westminster across the river to Greenwich in specially decorated barges." Brewer's Dictionary also has information but says the dinners were still going in 1892, which is confusing, unless it's a typo and should read 1882.