Historic London pubs

For hundreds of years, throughout the medieval period, the Dominican friary in the south-west corner of the City was one of London’s most important religious houses, home to the ‘black friars’, named because of the black habits they wore. The friary, along with all monasteries, was dissolved by Henry VIII in the 1530s. Three hundred and fifty years later the Black Friar pub was built on a small part of the site of the friary. In the early 20^th century it was remodelled with one of the most unique and interesting interiors of any London pub. You can learn more in my video here.

The Old Bank of England on Fleet Street is one of London’s grandest pubs. It stands beside the Royal Courts of Justice and until the 1970s was the law courts branch of the Bank of England. In warm weather you might like to take your drink out to the yard behind the pub where you can sit inside an old London Routemaster bus. You can learn more about the Old Bank of England in my video here.

Closed on Sundays
In the 1860s work was undertaken to bridge the valley of the River Fleet, resulting in the Holborn Viaduct. In 1869, its year of completion, the Viaduct Tavern opened a short distance away. Its interior is typical of the Victorian gin palaces of the time, with marble walls, large mirrors, and moulded ceiling. Of particular note is the wall adorned with three pre-Raphaelite style paintings of women representing agriculture, commerce, and industry and art. The splendid bar is original. That the tavern was once divided into separate drinking areas for different classes of clientele, is indicated by the multiple entrance doors. When it opened, the Viaduct Tavern stood next to the Giltspur Street Compter gaol, and across the road from the infamous Newgate Prison. Its cellars resemble cells and thus many believe these are part of the remains of the old Compter.

The charming Ship and Shovell is unusual in being a pub of two halves, one bar on each side of a passageway, and nestled (almost) below Charing Cross station. The name derives from Sir Cloudesley Shovell, a distinguished admiral. In 1707, as Commander of Britain’s Mediterranean Fleet, he forced the French to scuttle their fleet at Toulon. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to celebrate the victory. On the voyage back home his ships were blown off course and shipwrecked off the Isles of Scilly. Shovell and around 2,000 sailors perished. You can learn more in my video here.

Throughout urban London there are locations that still have the feel of a village, centred around a group of local shops, and the southern end of Hampstead Heath is in one of those places. The Magdala is from the mid-Victorian period, although the interior is wonderfully preserved from the 1930s. It is named after the Battle of Magdala of 1868 in modern-day Ethiopia, during which British forces were victorious against Abyssinians. The Magdala, however, has its own place in history for being where Ruth Ellis shot dead her lover and thus became the last woman to be hanged in Britain. The pub has two bars and a busy kitchen.

The Plume of Feathers is located very close to the main attractions of Greenwich. Yet, it is in a backstreet and, unlike the nearby Trafalgar Tavern, isn’t on the tourist trail. It is most certainly a local. Spend a bit of time inside (or sitting on the outside benches) and you will notice that many of the others around you all know each other. It is a charming, traditional boozer, patronised by locals. The Plume is actually the oldest pub in Greenwich. When it was first established in 1691 (shortly before the Royal Naval Hospital was built) the street was the Dover road from Greenwich out into Kent. It was possibly a coaching inn back then. As traffic increased the new, wider main road was created to the north. Today the pub is a family-owned free house and restaurant.

Follow Fulham High Street in a southerly direction and the busy road veers slightly to the right as it becomes Putney Bridge Approach. But the High Street continues straight on as a minor side road until coming to a dead end in a car park. Until the 1880s the High Street continued up to the ancient, wooden Fulham Bridge. At the northern end of the bridge stood the Eight Bells pub. Its first licence was granted in 1629, making it the oldest tavern in Fulham, and it has had its current name since the 1750s. The old bridge was replaced in 1886 by Putney Bridge, on that different alignment, and traffic no longer passed the pub. The landlord sued the Metropolitan Board of Works and was awarded £1,000 compensation. In the 1880s the nearby Fulham Football Club used the pub as their changing room. The Eight Bells now has the feel of a cozy local. To my knowledge, it is one of only two pubs in London (at the time of writing) that serve poutine, a dish from Quebec.