4 Historic London Pubs You Must Visit

Centuries of history in four London pubs — literary haunts, coaching inns and hidden courtyards.

Stephen Craven, CC BY-SA 2.0

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Fleet Street

A pub has stood here since 1538, rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666. Dickens, Dr Johnson and Mark Twain all drank beneath its low beams.

Ewan Munro, CC BY-SA 2.0

The George Inn, Southwark

London's only surviving galleried coaching inn, rebuilt in 1676. Dickens drank here — and mentioned it in Little Dorrit.

Christopher Hilton, CC BY-SA 2.0

The Spaniards Inn, Hampstead Heath

Dating to 1585 on the edge of the Heath. Dick Turpin's father was once landlord — and Keats is said to have written his nightingale ode in the garden.

Mike Quinn, CC BY-SA 2.0

The Flask, Hampstead

A handsome old Hampstead local on Flask Walk — Grade II listed, once known as the Lower Flask and the Thatched House.

Stephen Craven, CC BY-SA 2.0

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