10 Historic hostelries in and around London

by Andrew Barrow, Posted Jun 18th 2006 @ 1:08PM

Rules Restaurant London Ten historic venues in and around London as recommended in the Times.

The French House, 49 Dean Street, London W1 "The patina of time and the stains from a trillion Gauloises enhance what was the unofficial drinking den of Gallic wartime exiles (de Gaulle prepared his rallying calls here... Ales are sold in half-pints and Pernod is de rigueur at this throwback to Soho's boho glory years" [details]
Amberley Castle, Arundel, West Sussx "The impressive barrel-vaulted dining room serves some excellent food" [website]
The George Inn, 77 Borough High Street, London SE1 "Great alfresco dining on a gorgeous cobbled courtyard off Borough High Street is one of the obvious draws of this small-scale pub" [details]
Gordon's Wine Bar, 47 Villiers Street, London WC2 "It is said to be London's oldest established wine bar 1980 and attracts drinkers with its history - Pepys and Kipling both lived in the building and with its wine" [One I have been to along with a bunch of other bloggers] [website]
Jerusalem Tavern, 55 Britton Street, London EC1 "Quite possibly London's most atmospheric pub, the tiny Jerusalem Tavern is made up of just a handful of pokey rooms, set on the ground floor of a 1720s building in a quiet steeet of Clerkenwell's main drag" [details]
Lightship X, 5a St Katharine's Way, St Katharine Docks, London E1 "Landlubbers with a taste for naval history will enjoy boarding the world's oldest lightship, docked five minutes from the Tower of London" [website]
The Magdela, 2A South Hill Park, London NW2 "Back in 1953, Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain shot her lover outside this Hampstead pub, though today the atmosphere is so tranquil that it's hard to imagine such drama" [details]
The Manor Restaurant, Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury, Bucks "For Waddesdon Manor visitors, lunch at the Manor Restaurant should be considered one of the main attractions" [website]
Rules, 35 Maiden Lane, London WC2 "A genuine piece of the capital's dining history. Rules began life in 1798 and more than two centuries later is London's oldest continually trading restaurant - a gentlemen's haut replete with ricu, upholstered decor" [website]
Thackeray's, 85 London Road, Tunbridge Wells "The house, with its all-white New England exterior, is the oldest in Tunbridge Wells and was once the home of the writer and satirist William Makepeace Thackeray." [website]