Although stretching less than half a mile between Ludgate Circus and the Strand, Fleet Street contains many historic pubs and bars, with etched glass, dark wood and, in winter, roaring fires. Most are on the south side of the street. This stroll runs east to west.
Around St Bride’s, Church of the Press and Printers
A blue plaque in Ludgate Circus marks the spot where The Daily Courant, London’s first daily paper, was published in 1702. Opposite, at 99 Fleet Street, is the Punch Tavern, which has an entrance hall of Victorian glass and glazed tiles, decorated with figures from Punch and Judy shows. The pub was originally called the Crown and Sugar Loaf and changed its name after it became a favourite of the editorial office of Punch, a popular satirical magazine, which launched in 1841 and ran until 2002.
The Crown and Sugar Loaf still exists tucked away around the corner in Bride Lane. This is no more than a single bar – and a delightful one, too, of beautiful Victorian mirrors, hardwood panelling, mosaic floor and fireplace. Until the 1990s it was part of The Punch Tavern but it now stands alone, a quiet place for a pint of Sam Smith’s, who renovated and restored it authentically back to the original.
At No 95, with an entrance in an alley, is The Old Bell, said to have been founded for the builders of Sir Christopher Wren’s St Bride’s, the historic church of the press and printing, behind it. There had been a printing press here in 1500 but the present building dates from 1813 and the flagstones at the front show where an off-licence was situated.
Dr Johnson’s Local
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (145, north side), another Samuel Smith pub, really is "ye olde", and one of the most famous in London. Entered through a narrow alley called Wine Office Court, it was the haunt of the great man of letters Samuel Johnson (his house is around the corner), and it looks much as it must have done in his day in the 18th century. A warren of low-lit passages and rooms roams over half a dozen floors, including vaulted cellars that were part of a 13th-century monastery.
The Tipperary (No.66) describes itself as “London’s first Irish pub” and claims to have served the first bottled Guinness outside Ireland. Built on the site of a monastery, the first record of a pub here is from 1605. El Vino (No 47) is the classic journalists' watering hole, a wine bar founded in 1879, though the sherry barrels behind the counter are no longer in use. An antique candlestick telephone is a reminder of its former clientele, and its clubby atmosphere still attracts local lawyers. There is a restaurant at the back, with a side entrance and outdoor tables.
“To the Cock Ale House and drank, and eat a lobster, and sang, mighty merrily,” wrote Samuel Pepys in 1667. Ye Olde Cock Tavern was then on the other side of the street, pulled down when a Bank of England Law Courts branch was built in 1888, taking its furnishings with it to its current site. The Old Bank of England (194, north side) is now a Fuller’s “Ale and Pie” pub inhabiting the opulent Italianate bank building. Chandeliers glitter below high ceilings and the original steel bank doors can be seen in the cellar. A courtyard is an added attraction.
By Temple Gate, the City Boundary
Fleet Street ends at Temple Gate, which stood between Westminster and the City of London, and has now been re-erected beside St Paul’s Cathedral. Just on the Westminster side, in the Strand, is The Wig and Pen (Nos 229-230) dating from the 17th century, which once housed the keeper of Temple Gate. Until recently it was a club for journalists and lawyers, and is now a Thai restaurant. Beside it is another handsome pub, The George (No 213) with a splendid carved half-timbered frontage that attracts clients from the High Court opposite. Around the corner in 40 Essex Street is the Edgar Wallace, named after the thriller writer who began his journalistic career aged 11 selling newspapers at Ludgate Circus.
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