Oldest London pubs?

[Delboy20]

After a successful trip to the Slaughtered Lamb and around London this year ticking off the Krays, Grapes etc me and my mate have hatched a plan to do a few of London's oldest pubs next year.

There are loads of sites with lists of pubs claiming to be amongst the oldest. Which is the most reliable source?

I figured that someone on here will be able to help. I am only in the very early planning stage so no mad rush - looking to go in June maybe.

Cheers in advance,

Del.

[Mobyduck]

This list (https://secretldn.com/oldest-pubs-in-london/) gives up the usual suspects and the bulk of them are decent pubs as well, 11/13 for me ,just missing The Spaniards (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/55736/) and Old Bell (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/23507/).

[Delboy20]

Cheers. That list looks as good as any I've seen and it is a good starting point.
I've only done 2 - The Grapes and The George.

[Komakino]

This list (https://secretldn.com/oldest-pubs-in-london/) gives up the usual suspects and the bulk of them are decent pubs as well, 11/13 for me ,just missing The Spaniards (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/55736/) and Old Bell (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/23507/).

I know this thread isn't "Yet Another List", but always love a list. Full house for me.

[Bucking Fastard]

This list (https://secretldn.com/oldest-pubs-in-london/) gives up the usual suspects and the bulk of them are decent pubs as well, 11/13 for me ,just missing The Spaniards (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/55736/) and Old Bell (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/23507/).

Decent list,12/13 for me just missing The Spaniards.

[Delboy20]

A few sources seem to claim The Seven Stars (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22067/) as the oldest surviving London pub. Do we all agree or are there any other candidates?

[Mobyduck]

A few sources seem to claim The Seven Stars (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22067/) as the oldest surviving London pub. Do we all agree or are there any other candidates?

I agree though, there are older sites where the pub has been rebuilt, e.g the cellar in Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese far pre-dates the pub which was rebuilt in 1667 after the great fire destroyed it . The Seven Stars survived the fire and is the better pub IMO.

[london calling]

Thought it was the Hoop and Grapes near Aldgate.

[Mobyduck]

Thought it was the Hoop and Grapes near Aldgate.

Not always been in continuous use as a pub though, according to Whatpub.

"Listed Building dating from the 11th century there has been an Inn on the site since the thirteenth century.The current pub was converted from a wine merchant in 1920. It missed the Great Fire of London by a few yards and is one of only a handful of timbered buildings still left in London."

[Quinno]

This list (https://secretldn.com/oldest-pubs-in-london/) gives up the usual suspects and the bulk of them are decent pubs as well, 11/13 for me ,just missing The Spaniards (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/55736/) and Old Bell (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/23507/).

Just the Guinea missing for me

[Bucking Fastard]

A few sources seem to claim The Seven Stars (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22067/) as the oldest surviving London pub. Do we all agree or are there any other candidates?

If you go there watch out for the pub cat :eek:

[Mobyduck]

If you go there watch out for the pub cat :eek:

And the stairs back down from the toilet.

[Bucking Fastard]

And the stairs back down from the toilet.

Yes both the cat and stairs are lethal.:D

[Tris39]

Cheers. That list looks as good as any I've seen and it is a good starting point.
I've only done 2 - The Grapes and The George.

The White Hart (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22158/) claims to have the oldest continuous history, dating back to 1216 but was rebuilt - probably more than once - with the current building dating from only 1912. The Cittie of Yorke is a new build (around 1923) with an up-cycled name that had probably disappeared hundreds of years ago; this building was originally a branch of Henneky's.
The Seven Stars claims to have the oldest surviving structure, dating from shortly after the Great Fire, so it's probably mid-17th century.



This list (https://secretldn.com/oldest-pubs-in-london/) gives up the usual suspects and the bulk of them are decent pubs as well, 11/13 for me ,just missing The Spaniards (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/55736/) and Old Bell (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/23507/).

Yes. A full house for me and a very decent list for once.


Yes both the cat and stairs are lethal.:D

Indeed they are (see photo). I remember once around the late '90s when a customer pulled a funny face on eating a mouthful of the free dry bar snacks on the bar top, only to exhibit an even more pained expression when told that they were in fact the [former] cat's dinner. :D The landlady is quite a character too and a great cook, food coming from a tiny kitchenette on the first floor.

[Gann]

A good list and all 13 for me…

And if you are going to Holborn for the Cittie of York I would also recommend Princess Louise (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22020/) if you have not been before. It’s a relative youngster compared to the others , being built in 1872, but it is such a cracking interior…

[sheffield hatter]

I would also recommend Princess Louise (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22020/) if you have not been before. It’s a relative youngster compared to the others , being built in 1872, but it is such a cracking interior…

I second that emotion.

[Tris39]

A good list and all 13 for me…

And if you are going to Holborn for the Cittie of York I would also recommend Princess Louise (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22020/) if you have not been before. It’s a relative youngster compared to the others , being built in 1872, but it is such a cracking interior…

There are of course plenty of other pubs with cracking interiors and [relatively] central, though beauty doesn't guarantee a great pub experience. For example:

The Falcon (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/24449/)
The Salisbury Hotel (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/25450/)
The Prince Alfred (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22729/)
The Warrington Hotel (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22747/)
The Argyll Arms (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22160/)
The Black Lion (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/23796/)
The Washington (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/23753/)
The Black Friar (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/23505/)
The Viaduct Tavern (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/23290/)
The Queens (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/25546/)
The Winchester (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/25480/)
The Elgin (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/24869/)
Windsor Castle (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22728/)
Half Moon (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/24056/)
The Flying Horse (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22388/)
The Red Lion (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22862/)
The Salisbury (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22066/)
The Victoria (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22408/)

and the newly revamped (at a cost of £1.6m)
The Boleyn Tavern (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/24924/)