On the 21st August a merry band of Fletchers assembled for a Thrid sun‑soaked day of strolling, sipping, and learning — in roughly equal measure. Spirits were high, the weather was kind, what more could anyone want?
We visited:
The BlackFriar Built in 1875, on the site of a former Dominican Friary which existed from 1279 - 1539. Were we had our first pint then it was on to
The Cockpit - The first mention of an inn on this site was in 1352 “The Oakburn Inn”. This was demolished to build the Blackfriars priory gatehouse which turned into a private dwelling after the closing of the priory. The present building was constructed in the early 1840’s and was notorious as a cockfighting venue, cockfighting was prohibited in 1849 and the name was changed to commemorate the last venue in London to hold legal cockfighting.
(Coincidentally, Shakespeare employed the term "Cockpit" in Henry V to depict the vicinity surrounding a theatre’s stage).
The third pub was the The Old Bell which stands on the site of an earlier tavern “the Swan” and in 1500 became the location of Fleet Street’s first ever printers
The next pub was the Old Bank of England The building was occupied by the Law Courts branch of the Bank of England from 1888 to 1975 before it was refurbished and put to its current use in 1994. The vaults beneath the pub once contained gold bullion, and are said to have held the Crown Jewels for a period
as well. The location is also famously directly between Sweeney Todd’s barber shop and Mrs Lovett’s pie shop!
Next up was the Cittie of Yorke An inn has stood on this site since 1430 (although the earliest bits on show now date from around 1645 and most of the interior is from the end of the 19th century) it's famous for its long bar called Henekey's, the former name of this pub in the 1970's and boasts the longest bar in Britain.
Ye Olde Mitre was next on the list. Often touted as the hardest pub in London to find, The Ye Olde Mitre pub was built in 1546, during the reign of Henry VIII, for the servants of the bishop of Ely. The land which the Mitre stands was part of the gardens and vineyards of Ely palace and as such it was part of Cambridgeshire and was therefore not part to London until the 1980s!
Last but on least, The Castle has occupied this site since at least 1762, the evidenced is the birth there of Elizabeth Smith, later wife of architect Sir John Soane, to the pub's keeper Jonathan Smith. It is renowned for its unique pawnbroker's license—the only one held by a pub in England—allegedly granted by King George IV following a legendary incident where the monarch pawned his pocket watch at the premises to fund gambling losses in the nearby notorious entertainment district of Hockley-in-the-Hole.
