By rights this pub should not be on this website – it is such an excellent establishment that people are initiated to the Mitre by swearing never to disclose its location. Being one of the best hidden pubs, however, there is a good chance that even with directions you many never find it. Another, more [...]

Very popular with postal workers from the Giltspur Street depot, The Viaduct is notable for having one of the most striking Victorian pub interiors in the whole of London. The ceiling is ornate lincrusta – a form of lightweight covering made of pressed paper and linseed oil. On the east wall are three remarkable representations [...]

If you walk down Columbia Road on a sunny afternoon you will quickly note that it is unlike the surrounding East End. For a start the south side of the street is a constant row of shops, but they are unlikely to be open. The street has a genteel feel and the shops carry arty, [...]

Fleet Street’s associations with printing and the press are well known, and it is hard to think of Fleet Street without thinking of the watering holes where generations of hacks have worked hard. None, however, has quite the ink-and-type pedigree of The Old Bell. A former tavern on the site, The Sun, was home to [...]

The Jerusalem Tavern is one of the most authentic-looking 18th-century tavern-style pubs in London. This is a great tribute to its owners, St Peter’s Brewery of Suffolk, and their award-winning architect — for it is, in fact, no such thing. The brewery actually created the tavern from a fine 1720 townhouse that was formerly a [...]

One of London’s most historic inns, the Hoop and Grapes also has one of the best documented histories of any London pub. when it was built in 1598 it took the name The Castle. It is an exceptional building for a number of reasons: it was built of imported softwood, a consequence of the shortage [...]

Records show a hostelry on the site of The Grapes in the 16th century, and the present building goes back to a very creditable 1650. One of East London’s best know pubs, it is also a noted fish restaurant. The first-floor dining room is known as Dickens Room in honour of the fact that Charles [...]

Dickens Inn was originally a brewery building dating from the 18th century that was later used as a spice warehouse. Then, some 25 years ago, it was painstakingly relocated,, timber by timber, to the exclusive St Katharine’s Dock. For those with an interest in construction, photographs of the meticulous process are on display. Despite its [...]

Originally built over 600 years ago, The Black Lion was reconstructed about 280 years ago. Many features of the early coaching inn remain, such as the cobbled coaching yard. The pub is extensive, and is a good example of how we have forgotten about many of the ancillary functions that such houses used to provide [...]