London is bursting with historic pubs. I have taken on the difficult task of trying to identify my top ten- there are so many good ones! I also could not resist including a few ‘honourable mentions’ at the bottom.
Please do let me know in the comments what yours would be. Scroll down a map with all of their locations.
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The Most Iconic: The George Inn
No list of London’s most historic pubs would be complete without The George.
The rambling and creaking George Inn just off Borough High Street is the only surviving galleried coaching inn in London. Parts of the pub date back to 1676 when it was rebuilt after a fire. Borough High Street was once lined with the entrances to coaching inns, termini for the once thriving stagecoach industry. One of those lost over the centuries was The Tabard, famously where Chaucer’s pilgrims take off from in Canterbury Tales.
Dickens described the old coaching houses wonderfully when he said: ‘Great rambling queer old places they are, with galleries and passages and staircases, wide enough and antiquated enough to furnish materials for a hundred ghost stories.’
I also happened to have my book launch here so it has a special place in my heart!
See their website here.
The Most Atmospheric: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese was constructed in 1667, just one year after the Great Fire of London. To remind you of its age, on the outside it has a list of the monarchs that it has been open for from Charles II until present day.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is much bigger on the inside, that it looks from the outside and it is a veritable maze of gloomy, atmospheric nooks and crannies to sup your tipple of choice.
You can descend down into the 17th century cellars, said by some to erroneously be part of a 13th century monastery. Spot the stuffed parrot behind the main bar on the ground floor. Polly, the African Grey parrot, was the famously foul-mouthed resident of the pub from around 1895-1926.
See their website here.
The Most Myth-Laden: The Spaniard’s Inn
The Spaniards Inn sits relatively isolated at the top of Hampstead Heath on Spaniard’s Road. It was built originally in 1585 and its history is laden with myth and legend.
Some say it is named after the Spanish ambassador at the time of King James I, others say the name comes from two previous Spanish landlords Francisco and Juan Porero. They apparently fell out over a woman, fought a duel in which Juan was shot, killed and then buried in the garden of the inn. His ghost is still said to haunt it.
During the Gordon Riots of 1780, a group of rioters were on their way to Kenwood House, the home of the Chief Justice Lord Mansfield. The quick thinking landlord of the Spaniard’s Inn plied the group with so much beer, they got too drunk and never made it.
Amongst other tales, it is said to have hosted highwayman Dick Turpin (who is said to haunt the roadway outside), Bryon, Keats and Constable. It is also mentioned in Dicken’s Pickwick Papers and in Dracula.
See their website here.
The Most Hidden: Ye Olde Mitre
Ye Olde Mitre has got to be London’s most hidden pub, tucked away down a very narrow alleyway in Holborn. It was originally built in the 16th century to cater to the servants of the Bishop of Ely who owned a palace on this site until 1772.
The current building dates from 1773 at the same time the nearby Ely Place was laid out. Inside the pub behind a glass screen is what looks like a wooden beam. Legend states that it is what remains of a cherry tree, now part of the structure of the pub, that was once danced around by Queen Elizabeth I and one of her court favourites Sir Christopher Hatton, after whom neighbouring Hatton Garden is named.
See their website here.
The Most Decorative: The Blackfriar
I love the wonderfully eccentric exterior of the Blackfriar. This wedge-shaped pub stands as Victorian survivor at a busy road junction by Blackfriars Station. It was built in 1875 and 30 years later was remodelled in the current style.
On the front sits a cheerful, chuckling friar: a nod to the history of the area as having once been the site of the Blackfriars monastery before it was dissolved by King Henry VIII in the 1530s. Inside are various other carvings, sculptures and decorative details of monks.
See their website here.
The Best Survivor: The Grapes, Limehouse
Considering the Grapes is in Limehouse, right in the heart of the East End, it is remarkable that it survived the Blitz. For example, it only very narrowly escaped the blast of a V1 rocket that landed nearby towards the end of the war.
There has been a pub on the site since 1583 with the current structure dating from the 1720s. Limehouse, with its seafaring links, has always been fascinating to London’s writers, visited by Dickens, written about by Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde.
In 2011 the Grapes was purchased by Sir Ian Mckellen, film director Sean Mathius and businessman Evgeny Lebedev. It has a cosy, dark-panelled interior, oozing with history and maritime tales.
See their website here.
The Best Riverside Views: The Prospect of Whitby
The Prospect of Whitby has lovely views over the Thames from its riverside location in Wapping.
The current building is largely 19th century but there has been a pub here since 1520. Some of the flagstones are even said to date from the original pub. Originally called the Pelican, it gained the nickname the ‘Devil’s Tavern’, giving you an idea of its dastardly clientele.
On the beach behind the Prospect of Whitby is the replica noose, a reminder of the fact that it was very close to here where where pirates were once hanged, their bodies left dangling on the shoreline for the tides to wash over them.
See their website here.
The Best Origin Story: The Old Doctor Butler’s Head
The Old Doctor Butler’s Head is tucked away down a narrow alleyway behind Guildhall Yard in the City of London.
The current building is 19th century but there has been a pub here since 1610 and is named after, unsurprisingly, Dr William Butler, portrayed on the pub sign. Butler was a physician in the court of King James I and was known for some pretty bizarre treatments.
He developed Dr Butler’s Ale: a purgative drink for curing gastric problems: a pint of ale infused with various ingredients. Instead of being sold in an apothecary it was sold in pubs who often displayed an image of his head.
See their website here.
The Oldest?: The Seven Stars, Holborn
The Seven Stars was established in 1602, fourteen years before Shakespeare died. It is possible that some interior features such as beams survive from that original construction today.
The Seven Stars does not necessarily have any wild stories to tell but it has been quietly playing its trade here on a quiet backstreet in Holborn for over 400 years. It has a cosy, almost country-side ambience and has a distinct, ‘forgotten by time’ feel to it.
See their website here.
The Cosiest: The Dove, Hammersmith
The Dove is a lovely little pub, hidden down a lane in Hammersmith. It has low beams, walls plastered in pictures and memorabilia and a fire in the winter. It also has a brilliant terrace out the back for looking out over the river.
There has been a pub here since the 17th century but the current building is 18th century. It has a surprisingly large list of literary and artistic figures who have visited over the years including Ernest Hemingway, William Morris, who once lived next door, Dylan Thomas and Graham Greene. Local legend says that this is where James Thomson wrote the words to Rule Britannia in 1740.
Just to top it off its front bar holds the record for the smallest public bar in the UK.
See their website here.
Honourable mentions
The Lamb and Flag, Covent Garden: the oldest pub in Covent Garden, once nicknamed the ‘Bucket of Blood’ due to the bare-knuckle boxing matches that took place here.
The Mayflower, Rotherhithe: the current building is a post-war build but it is very cosy, sits amongst the cobbled streets of Rotherhithe. It is not far from where the Pilgrim Fathers moored The Mayflower before setting off to the New World.
The Flask, Highgate: the name relates to the flasks of spring water once sold here
Princess Louise, Holborn: a lovely Victorian pub, even the toilets are listed.
The Grenadier, Belgravia: constructed originally as a mess for the barracks behind and supposedly haunted by a murdered soldier
The Old Bank of England, Fleet Street: a beautiful, grand interior on Fleet Street
The Anchor, Bankside: has a long history at this site but feels rather modern inside today
The Jamaica Winehouse, St Michael’s Alley: where London’s first ever coffeehouse was opened
Ye Olde Watling, Bow Lane: built originally by Sir Christopher Wren for his workers working on St Paul’s
The Hoop and Grapes, Aldgate: narrowly survived the Great Fire and has a brilliantly wonky entrance
See a map of all the locations below, including the honourable mentions in orange.
For more of London’s amazing history, you can buy my Sunday Times bestselling guidebook to London’s quirks and oddities here.
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The Old Doctor Butler’s Head has precious memories for me. When my spouse was doing his years as a young hospital doctor, he and his colleagues had little money. So once a year they gathered in this pub to raise a glass or two, to honour the old doctor. The front of the pub still looks the same as when we were young.
What a great post, Jack, featuring some tremendous pubs. If you include the ‘honourable mentions’ I’ve visited all bar four of them. It’s a rich seam to be mined. Here are a few other suggestions:
Sporting History
The Cockpit in Blackfriars (cock fighting)
The Compton Arms in Islington (cricket)
The Phene Arms in Chelsea (George Best)
Literary History
The Newman Arms in Fitzrovia (Orwell, Dylan Thomas)
The Wheatsheaf in Fitzrovia (Orwell, Dylan Thomas, Augustus John, Anthony Burgess)
The Coach & Horses in Soho (Private Eye)
Criminal History
The Blind Beggar in Whitechapel (where Ronnie Kray killed George Cornell)
The Carpenters in Bethnnal Green (used by the Krays as their ‘office’)
The Ten Bells in Spitalfields (Jack The Ripper)
The Magdala in Hampstead (where Ruth Ellis shot her boyfriend to death)
The Star Tavern in Belgravia (allegedly where the Great Train Robbery was planned)
The Town of Ramsgate in Wapping (where prisoners were held before being sent to Australia)
The Hand & Shears in Smithfield (where prisoners on the prison wagon had a final drink before going to the gallows, hence the phrases “one for the road” and “on the wagon”)
Musical History
The Cart & Horses in Stratford (Iron Maiden)
The Railway in West Hampstead (Hendrix, Cream, The Who, The Stones)
The Dublin Tavern in Camden (Madness)
The Hope & Anchor in Islington (Madness, The Specials, Costello, Dire Straits, U2, The Jam, The Police, The Stranglers, The Pogues))
The Clissold Arms in Fortis Green (The Kinks)
The Red Barn in Bexleyheath (jazz)
The Hawley in Camden (Amy Winehouse)
I remember clearly, entering the Flask, but have no memory of leaving…
Really enjoyed this post, Jack.
As ever totally fascinating! Looking forward to meeting you on one of the Covent Garden tours. 🙂
Really interstate, hope to visit some next time I’m in London
Great post. Thank you:)
Jack the information on London pubs so interesting, I love the City. Hopefully when weather gets warm, I will take a trip to London. Well done you.
Absolutely LOVE your post! I would love to visit England one of these days! It’s a dream and on my bucket list! I live in Indiana…. USA.
They used to do a full-on Sunday roast for 6.99 when I first moved to North London. Think it was about 17 quid when I left. It was always a shlep cycling up the hill, and deadly cycling back down again after too many ciders, but I have the fondest memories of reading the papers there on a Sunday afternoon with my now wife.
I used to work in Westminster and lived in Bermondsey, then Islington so have been lucky enough to have most of these on my commute/ doorstep. This blog makes me want to fly back to the UK for an epic pub crawl and really suck in the pub smell for which I once took for granted.
I’d add in The Two Chairman as a great pub for the lack of TVs, gaming machines and suchlike. David used to be the barman and was a total gentleman.
Love this post!
I’ve brought many friends on a ten hours ten pubs tour taking in some of these.
Seven stars has always been my favourite.
I understood ye olde Cheshire cheese to be older than that but a mention to the missing white hart on Drury lane which has been an inn for 800 years??
Also was disappointed to see the Tipperary on Fleet St go. The first Irish pub outside of Ireland from 1895??
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I also really love the Viaduct Tavern, Newgate Street. Though I don’t think that the “cell” in the basement was ever used to hold prisoners.
The Seven Stars does also have a very charismatic landlady, Roxy Beaujolais, and a long line of famous pub cats, now The General.
Why on earth would anyone name a pub after spring water brought from Hampstead when there’s a very healthy old spring outside the front door of the very inn you’re talking about. The name of the village goes back to olden days when the High Gate was the first posting point on the old Roman Road from the City of London to York (see also Holloway Road – holloway: an ancient road whose surface has eroded below the surrounding landscape due to heavy traffic, usually overgrown with overarching trees forming a tunnel). The Gatehouse Inn (now pub) almost next door to The Flask was the former Highgate end of the turnpike road that passed through to Hampstead: the Spaniards Inn being the Hampstead end of the same turnpike (toll road) through the Bishop of London’s hunting estate: hence the road name Bishop’s Avenue which runs off the turnpike adjacent to (opposite) Kenwood House.
The entire chalk ridge from Muswell Hill/Alexandra Palace above the Lea Valley in the east to Kilburn in the west, passing through Highgate and Hampstead is the source of dozens of streams: notably but not only the Fleet River, Brent, Tyburn, Westbourne and Eastbourne, all of which play significant parts in London’s history and it’s pubs. The Lamb’s Conduit was long the source of brewing water for pubs in that eponymous street, whilst the Yorkshire Grey on the corner of Grays Inn and Clerkenwell/Theobald’s was sited over yet another stream coming from the Hampstead chalk ridge. There really was no need for The Flask to import water from Hampstead, and hardened dwellers of Highgate would have deemed Hampstead water to be inferior to their own local supply.
Several of London’s Inns of Court are sited over other streams emanating fro the same chalk ridge: those inns brewed their own beers and ales because London’s water was largely unsafe until quite late in the 19th century.
And you missed a trick with your visit to Keats’ House; he went to live there for his health, he later died of consumption. The site is adjacent to Hampstead’s Vale of Health – considered a health spa in the 16th to 19th centuries, and one of the two sources of the River Fleet. Across the road from his house is the Devonshire Arms: one of the very few pubs left in London with a real skittles alley. The arms used to brew it’s own beers from the vale’s waters until the early 1960s.
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