How the Dome pub opened a Battersea youth to middle-class social life

In the mid-1980s a Black teenager from a Battersea council estate said pubs were not part of his life until enrolling at Richmond College, which introduced pubs and bars as meeting places. The most popular spot by far was the Dome, less than a mile from the estate; the 15-minute walk across Battersea Bridge and down Beaufort Street felt like walking through a portal into another universe.

He described the Dome as a dark, unspectacular place with a central bar and seating all around and a striking domed roof. It was not officially called the Dome until the early 1990s; its actual name was the Roebuck, and it was allegedly a meeting spot for the Sex Pistols in the 1970s.

To him and his friends the Dome epitomised what he called Thatcherite hedonism: the coolest kids from the estate would go there to mingle with the "wild children of the wealthy", flirt and hear about the night’s parties. He compared it to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory for attractive women and said it became his gateway to a middle-class world, changing his outlook on life.

He recalled that youth culture on his estate was roughly divided between "raggas"—tougher, Jamaica-influenced youths who listened to sound systems—and "trendies" or "freaks" like his group, who preferred jazz-funk, rare groove and hip-hop.

Key Topics

Culture, The Dome, Roebuck, Battersea, Richmond College, Sex Pistols