London pub culture runs so deep that even London’s oldest pubs are heavily debated.

What you’d assume would be a record of fact is a hugely contested topic: your quick pub trivia search for “the oldest pub in London England” is sure to bring up over a dozen names, each laying claim to being the greyest of the bunch.

Pour yourself a pint and decide for yourself which of these taverns is the oldest pub in London.

Image Credit: Nicholson's. Image Location: Hoop & Grapes, London, UK

What is the oldest pub in London called?

The oldest pub in London is called…by many different names. You will hear many arguments regarding which pub in London is the oldest. Some say The Red Lion, because a pub had been on-site since the 1400s, changing its name and face many times over history. Others will say The Seven Stars. The building was constructed in 1602, but it isn’t definitively known that a pub was in the building over the last 400+ years.

What is the oldest pub in the City of London?

The oldest pub in the City of London—as in the literal “City of London” district, as opposed to the city of Greater London (as a whole metropolis)—is The Hoop and Grapes. Built (and by "built", we mean the building itself, not the pub’s operating origin) in 1593, The Hoop and Grapes is the oldest licensed house in the City of London.

Technically, Ye Olde Cock Tavern was established in 1549 but wasn’t in its current site until 1887. And Ye Olde Watling burned down in the Great Fire of London and was rebuilt in 1668. So, the originally named “Hops and Grapes” is the oldest pub in the City of London.

What do the grades mean for London’s oldest pubs?

As you hop around the oldest pubs in London, you’ll see many with a “Grade” listing, e.g. “Grade I” or “Grade II”. Buildings that are graded are either original buildings built prior to 1840 or buildings of historical importance. Grade I buildings are the most exceptional, such as Buckingham Palace. Grade II buildings are of national importance or special interest. London’s oldest pubs predate the 19th century, which is why so many of them will have a Grade II listing.

London’s oldest pubs

When you’re counting your age by centuries, does it really matter if you’re 360 years old or 320 years old? A few decades is just a drop in the glass, no need to argue about it. Let’s leave the histrionics to the historians and enjoy the fact that many of these watering holes are the oldest pub in London thanks to pints and preservation.

Image Credit: Greene King. Image Location: The Prospect of Whitby, Wapping, London, UK

The Prospect of Whitby | “1520”

Nearest train station: Limehouse | Nearest Overground station: Wapping

The Prospect of Whitby claims to be the oldest riverside tavern in London, citing its construction in 1520. Its original flooring is over 400 years old, and the pub is adorned with a few other relics of yesteryear like a pewter-topped bar, ship masts, and barrels. They claim smugglers, pirates, and other unsavory characters frequented this bar, as well as semi-savory characters like Charles Dickens and Judge Jeffreys.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese | “1538”

Nearest train station: City Thameslink | Nearest Underground: Blackfriars

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese was also a haunt for Dickens; we went so far as to scribble it into a scene for A Tale of Two Cities. What he didn’t mention was that the site of this olde pub in London was once a Carmelite monastery in the 13th century before becoming a pub in 1538. Thing is though, that little Great Fire of London burned the medieval pub down. It was rebuilt in 1667, so while it is certainly in the oldest pub in London category, it’s a little younger than it lets on.

Image Credit: Greene King. Image Location: The George, London, UK

The George

Nearest train station: London Bridge | Nearest Underground: London Bridge

Here’s another point of contention: Does the George claim to be an oldest pub in London because its current building dates back to 1676 or because the carriage house, The George Inn, was on this site since medieval times? Beats us. It’s proven to be a swell place for a pint, though, so do check it out.

Ye Olde Mitre | “1546”

Nearest train station: Farringdon | Nearest Underground: Farringdon

Another round of ye olde or aren’t ye olde: Ye Olde Mitre was originally built as servant’s quarters in 1546 and the current building replaced the original in the 18th century, and then it had its inside remodeled in the 20th century. Is it an oldest pub in London? Certainly, but let’s bump that date up to the 1700s and buy the bar a round all the same.

Image Credit: Fuller's. Image Location: Ye Olde Mitre, London, UK

The Mayflower Pub | “1550”

Nearest train station: Limehouse/London Bridge | Nearest Overground: Rotherhithe

Don’t tell The Prospect of Whitby, but The Mayflower Pub also claims to be the oldest pub in London on the River Thames. Word around the bar is that it’s been around since 1550, but we won’t be surprised if that number was inaccurately slurred by a historian who’s had one too many. Either way, its more fascinating fact-that-might-be-fiction is that rumor has it the Mayflower, as in the Mayflower, docked here in 1620.

The oldest pub in London: Hogwarts mystery answer

First of all, Hermione Granger would not approve of you cheating. But then again, she committed multiple acts that are considered crimes in the Muggle world, so let’s not point wands. The oldest pub in London, according to the Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery Scavenger Hunt is: the Leaky Cauldron.

While we’re on the subject, Accio everything Harry Potter:

(And here’s another answer for a future trivia night: did you know that one of the Leaky Cauldron filming locations in Harry Potter is just around the corner from the filming location for Bridget Jones’s apartment in the Bridget Jones’s Diary movie?)

Train to the pub

Don’t drink at London’s oldest pubs and drive; take the train, instead. Download the Trainline app and responsibly get to and from the oldest pubs in London, England, by rail.

Need something other than the hair of the dog for the next day? Check out the best places in London for afternoon tea.

Header Image Credit: Fuller's. Image Location: Ye Olde Mitre, London, UK

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