Which is Britain’s oldest pub?
At least half a dozen pubs in Britain claim to be the oldest, but which one is right?
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There’s an old philosophical dilemma that goes back to ancient Greece, but is currently best known as Trigger’s Broom, after the sitcom character: if you have a broom, and you replace the handle and then, later, you replace the head, is it still the same broom or not?
Likewise, if a pub has existed on the same spot for 600 years but was burnt down and rebuilt, is it the same pub or not? If the foundations are over a thousand years old but more than half of the current building is relatively recent, does it count as an old pub or not?
It’s one of those debates that will never reach a satisfying conclusion, which makes it perfect fodder for pub chat. Here are five venerable pubs in which to have that conversation.
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, St Albans
The foundations have been there since 743, but the earliest record of there being a licensed premises here is from 1756.
Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, Nottingham
Claims to have been a pub since 1189 but there’s no documentation, and the earliest parts of the current building date to around 1650.
The Skirrid Inn, Abergavenny
This Abergavenny ale-house claims to go back to the year 1110, but the current building dates to the 17th century.
The George Inn, Norton St Philip, Bath
Remarkable in that you can see the 14th century original and the 15th century timber added above, like sedimentary layers.
Ye Olde Man and Scythe, Bolton
Recorded on this site in 1251, the pub has been here almost 800 years, even if it has been completely rebuilt at least once (in 1636).
