Jerod bought us a London tourist book for Christmas last year and it has proved to be very useful in our time here. One interesting recommendation it contained was a historical pub walk through central London. Recently we arranged a babysitter and gave the tour a go.
The tour starts at The George Inn on the South Bank in Southwark (pronounced, "suth-ick", go figure!). The George Inn is from the 1600's and has been mentioned in Charles Dickens novels and was once a hang out for William Shakespeare!
The weather was fairly warm so we sat outside and shared some bangers and mash the way Billy used to have it! I had a pint of their George Ale.
The George Inn is the last surviving galleried coach Inns which used to be plentiful in Southwark before the others were ravaged by the fires that plagued London in the earlier years.
Southwark Cathedral, where William Shakespeare was a member of the congregation (not a pub but on the route to the next one).
Next stop, The Anchor. This pub is right on the Thames. It was from this pub that writer Samuel Pepys stood and watched the fire of 1666 as it ravaged London on the other side of the Thames. But then 11 years later the original Anchor was damaged in a fire on the south bank and rebuilt in its current state.
The funny thing is that in the first week we lived in London, after touring the sites one day, we ended up eating at this pub; it was our first taste of british pub culture.
At this pub we enjoyed our drinks on the roof patio overlooking the Thames and the City beyond. I had a London Pride bitter ale.
The pub walk lead us across the Thames to the City side. St. Pauls was all lit up.
The next pub on the tour was the Ye Olde Watling. This pub was named after the ancient Roman road on which is stands. The current pub isn't very old, but the site has had tumultuous history; the first pub was finished only days before it burned to the ground in the great fire of 1666, it was rebuilt 2 years later, then again in 1901 and for the last time in the 1950's after it was destroyed in the Blitz of WW2.
Anyway, long story short, the pub was closed by the time we got there! Crazy 10pm closing times in London!
Next stop is the Black Friar. This pub isn't as old as the others, built in 1905, but it has a very unique interior deemed Art Nouveau from the Arts and Crafts era.
The pub was built on the site of an old friary, hence the friar. I had a pint of Lotus IPA.
The next pub was The Viaduct Tavern. This pub is said to be haunted as part of its cellars are cells from an old jail that was across the street!
But our luck was running out, this pub was closed for a private party!
After this pub we passed by St. Pauls Cathedral. The OCCUPY LONDON demonstration was still in full swing and they were preaching on the steps of the cathedral.
The last pub on our tour was the Ye Olde Mitre. This pub proved hard to find as it wasn't in the location it was shown on the map. As it turns out, the pub isn't actually on the road, you have to go through this opening between the shops and go down a cobble stone alleyway. This was turning into quite the hunt and adventure!
Unfortunately this pub was also closed! The pub was originally built in 1546 and then rebuilt in 1772. There is apparently a stone mitre from a Bishops gatehouse built into one of the walls that gives the pub its name. There is also apparently a preserved cherry tree trunk in the pub which Queen Elizabeth I apparently danced around.
Coming from Canada its so hard to think of a bar having so much history, but the pubs in London aren't just a part of the modern society here, they have been part of life in London for hundreds of years.
Unfortunately being around for hundreds of years doesn't change anything when your liquor license ends at 10pm; so we went home... Fun night, touring around on foot hunting for the next historic pub
Mike
