More than 400 pubs called last orders in the UK last year, with London losing the greatest number to demolition or conversion into shops and flats.
Of the 412 watering holes that closed last year, 55 were in the capital - although it's not all doom and gloom, there are still 3,470 venues to wet your whistle.
A new book details more than 200 of the pubs that have called time in the capital in recent decades. Drawing on both online reviews and old pub guides dating back to the 1920s, Sam Cullen delves into their stories in London's Lost Pubs (Pen and Sword £20).
They include boozers frequented by The Krays, Charles Dickens, Britpop stars and The Beatles - and even one, The George and Dragon in Vauxhall - that had a swimming pool.
Cullen, whose favourite lost pubs include the Zeitgeist in Lambeth and Sun and Dove in Camberwell, says: "As much as it's sad that these pubs don't exist any more, I wanted to make sure they are not lost to time by telling their stories, their history, and some of the quirky characters who drank in them.
"Pubs can tell you so much about social and cultural history.
"The book is a celebration of pubs that existed as a vehicle for looking at aspects of London life.
"My criteria for inclusion was that they closed within the past twenty-five years, and there was an interesting story to tell."
The author explores the history of ten lost Tower Hamlets and East End pubs, many of which dated back to the 18th century.
One of the oldest was The Black Horse, in Ropemaker's Fields, which first opened in 1807 - later surviving the Blitz to become The House They Left Behind.
According to Cullen, the pub made regular appearances in pub guides in the 1990s, with its décor described in a 1998 Time Out review as "East End dabbles with ancient Greece".
For other pubs, the author explores the story behind their interesting names, such as The Water Poet, in Folgate Street, and Five Bells & Bladebone, in Three Colt Street.
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Others, like The Grave Maurice, Cullen describes as "very much established in East End lore".
The boozer in Whitechapel Road was frequented by East End gangsters The Krays, Frankie Fraser and George Cornell.
Ronnie was interviewed there for a TV show, and pop star Morrissey was later photographed outside it for the cover of his 1995 single Sunny.
With the number of pubs countrywide slumping from 75,000 in 1960 to below 39,000 today, Cullen admits his book could "potentially be a depressing read".
He said: "These pubs are not lost as long as we have a memory of them. I’ve written this to make sure they’re remembered, in most cases with a smile, rather than being lost to the mists of time."
Lost Pubs by Sam Cullen is published by Pen and Sword Books on January 31.
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