The Alchemist, Battersea

The Alchemist is a former pub at 225 St John's Hill, Battersea, London that was controversially demolished in May 2015 after over 100 years in business.[1]

The pub in 2008

It was originally called The Fishmongers' Arms,[1] and was built in 1854.[2]

The pub closed in 2013, and was demolished in 2015 by a developer hoping to extend the building and build a block of flats.[1] Wandsworth Council regarded the demolition having taken place without planning permission, and called it a "very serious breach" of council rules, and "unjustified".[1] The council ordered developer Udhyam Amim to rebuild the pub and restore it to its appearance prior to demolition, but a year later this had not been carried out and the developer was seeking retrospective approval to demolish the building and replace it with six apartments, along with retail and commercial space.[3]

The demolition was compared to that of the Carlton Tavern in Kilburn, north London, which was demolished in April the same year.[1]

In July 2018 the building was restored.[4] In October that year its owners applied for planning permission to make the building into a shop, office or food establishment, but planners rejected the application, ruling that the change of use would "result in the loss of a public house of historic and community value".[5]