Public houses in Stoke Newington served as venues for a wide range of social activities. Four establishments, including the Londesborough, held billiard licences in 1879. Almost all of the friendly societies met in taverns, as there were no other secular meeting places apart from coffee houses in the mid-eighteenth century and assembly rooms by the nineteenth century.​

 

The Pride of Stoke Newington met at the Londesborough Tavern from 1860 to 1864. By around 1870, there were approximately twenty-five taverns and beer shops in Stoke Newington and the detached portions of South Hornsey.

 

Many stood at the corners of newly built roads, despite opposition from groups such as nonconformist Sunday schools and temperance associations.​During the 1960s, the Londesborough was among the pubs frequented by the notorious Kray Twins. In later years, the pub also hosted Eric Bristow, the world champion darts player, who was known to play there.​