Historic London Pubcast
Discover London through its most historic pubs. The Historic London Pubcast is your audio guide to centuries-old drinking spots filled with stories of royals, writers, rebels, and rogues. Perfect for travelers looking to explore the city’s heritage off the beaten path. Think old pubs are just about beer? Think again. We uncover the stories behind London’streasured pubs - architecture, legends,eccentrics & all.These aren’t just historic sites - they’re living heritage, reflective of the neighborhoods they sit in.When you experience London with The Historic London Pubcast, you’re not just visiting, you’re addingyour own chapter to London’s story.
Episodes
Looking for a day trip from Central London? We're going to leafy Barnes, SW London for a leisurely Thames riverside pub crawl. Barnes river pubs and the best Thames River pubs? Yes please!
Hidden spots loved by locals, London travel tips for visiting the best historic London pubs, haunted London pubs and ghost stories, glam rock and royal drama.
The Brown Dog - once known as The Rose of Denmark, a royal backstory...
A riverside ramble through Mortlake. First up is The Jolly Gardeners with its ties to London’s market gardening boom and rowing pioneer Amy Gentry, OBE. Then we head to The Ship, a riverside classic at the finish line of the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, where Victorian crowds once placed rowdy wagers on sculling duels. Along the Thames Path, Eric traces the rise and fall of Mortlake Brewery—from medieval monks to Budwe...
Body snatchers, cadavers, and one last drink before execution. I’m getting chills — and they’re sure to be multiplying — as host Eric Blair takes us down the dark alleys of Smithfield. From The Rising Sun’s ghostly guests and tales of fresh corpses for sale, to The Hand and Shears’ grim fairground trials, The Old Red Cow’s spectral landlord, and the origin of the phrase “on the wagon,” Eric guides us through another f...
Revolutionaries, royals, radicals, and a legendary pub clock. The path from Clerkenwell through Farringdon to Smithfield traces a route rich with medieval history, market tradition, and religious heritage. The area has evolved from a separate village outside London's walls into a bustling modern district while retaining key historic landmarks. In this electrifying episode, Eric Blair walks us through these very s...
A lively stroll through the riverside and inland canal areas of Limehouse. A neighborhood steeped in maritime and industrial history. Where riverside pubs whisper tales of pirates and pioneers. From the maritime roots of Limehouse to the haunting yet enduring remnants of its pub culture, we uncover hidden gems and forgotten facts involving pirates-turned-colonists, The Grapes’ narrow, riverside Dickensian tavern, the ...
Eric dusts off Timothy Richards and James Stevens Curl’s 1972 City of London Pubs book, and follows it through today’s City of London’s Cheapside neighborhood. An episode stuffed with closed pubs, surviving gems, and even a cranky ghost named Martha. From Balls Brothers (RIP) to Ye Olde Watling (still standing, still creaky), and The Golden Fleece (where brokers fleeced their clients), this episode goes back to the pu...
Detective Eric Blair weaves through five historic watering holes from Southwark to the Elephant & Castle. A beautiful Roebuck with mansard roofing and Grade II street cred. A Roman woman buried like a queen. A pub that became the birthplace of the Firkin empire, complete with saucy seaside postcard slogans. A local boozer once renamed in the ‘70s by a jogger-turned-beer mogul. Finally, the Elephant & Castle it...
Eric picked a unique approach to a historic London pub crawl on today’s episode. It’s all about pubs that are convenient to Borough tube station. Is it a Southwark pub crawl? Borough Pub Crawl? Or Borough Market Pub Crawl? It depends on who you ask! We will walk the four points of the compass around Borough tube station in Southwark’s Borough Market neighborhood. Borough pubs and Borough Market pubs aren’t just for si...
Back in Peckham for round two. From the steadfast Olde Apple Tree—the last survivor of Sumner Road’s once-bustling pub scene—to the Red Bull with its Shakespearean mural. Also visited are The White Horse — a pub with roots stretching back to the 18th century, a chess club hangout, and a Sunday roast that locals swear by. The Angel Oak — once a coaching inn and literary landmark, now a modern gastropub with a leg...
South of the river to the Nunhead and Peckham Rye areas of Peckham for the colorful past and present of three iconic pubs. The Ivy House - Victorian cricket fanatics and music legends (hello, Ian Dury) to a thrilling last-minute rescue by the community from developers. The Old Nun’s Head – 400 years of pints and proper behavior (mostly), with whispers of Dickensian visits and rebellious schoolgirl shenanigans. The Pyr...
Third time’s a charm at Soho’s pubs. On today’s historic London pub walk, Eric tells us of Child prodigy, Mozart playing to a half empty room on Brewer Street, Marx and Engels plotting the Communist Manifesto at The Red Lion pub, and Oscar Wilde’s ghostly haunts at The Leicester Arms. There’s more! Tales of Victorian rat catchers, jazz clubs that shook up postwar Britain, and stunning pub architecture that’s survived ...
In this punchy finale to our Mayfair trilogy, Eric focuses on five historic watering holes just west of Regent Street. From The Clarence where Chopin may have raised a glass, to The Goat Tavern, once a hub for naval officers and site of a meeting that led to grisly true crime, this episode is sure to shock is for those into Victorian architecture, true crime, or just love a little drama with your pint, the eastern edg...
In Part 2 of our Mayfair pub visit, wander through Mayfair’s hidden gem - Shepherd Market. From the racy past of Ye Grapes to the celebrity-laden Punchbowl, the wartime history of The Chesterfield Arms, the ever-reinvented King’s Arms, and the dazzling transformation of The Audley Public House, Eric uncovers tales of scandal, reinvention, and charm tucked inside historic pubs. Along the way, we’ll meet eccentric chara...
Exploring Mayfair, one of London’s most prestigious districts, as seen through its legendary pubs, Part 1 of a three-part series. From the centuries-old Guinea Grill and its celebrity-filled past to The Footman with its curious running legacy, and the Coach and Horses, once frequented by Brigitte Bardot, this episode reveals the hidden stories behind Mayfair’s iconic landmarks. Along the way, discover royal connection...
Step into ritzy Marylebone’s colorful pub scene as we uncover stories from Sherlock Holmes and The Beatles to Chopin and Charles Babbage, plus a daring bank heist straight out of a detective novel. Along the way, we’ll explore historic pubs that have hosted everyone from spies to singalong piano nights, proving that Marylebone’s posh streets hide stories as lively as any London neighborhood.
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Stroll through Maida Vale’s historic pub landscape. From the grand Edwardian staircase and beauty of The Warrington Hotel to the secret snob screens of The Prince Alfred pub, and the canal-side charm of The Warwick Castle pub.
A blend of marvelous pub architecture, the best Victorian pubs in London, literary connections, and a dash of celebrity intrigue. Along the way, we’ll spot blue plaques, hidden histories, and ev...
In this first of two episodes on Fleet Street pubs, we cover The Blackfriar, The Old Bell and The Tipperary – lots of history and interesting stories.
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Google map with pubs covered in previous episodes pinned, courtesy of Andy Meddick:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/4/edit?mid=12c-WKa3XiT1qTLydK8psZocUR7Y_Wes&usp=sharing
Or TinyURL: https://tinyurl.com/bduca5dv
The following resources are ref...
Part 2 of our walk along Fleet Street’s pubs, uncovering stories that bring London’s past to life for modern visitors. From the dramatic downfall of Robert Devereux, once Queen Elizabeth’s favorite, to dueling scholars at The Grecian Coffee House, a conman exposed at The George, and even ghostly whispers in its basement, history is everywhere you turn. We’ll also step into the modern Temple Brewhouse and finish with a...
From Karl Marx’s drunken adventures to a haunted pub theater and a corpse-snatching room known as The Autopsy Room, this episode is full of strange histories, legendary characters, and classic London pub charm. You’ll laugh, wince, and maybe even check over your shoulder as we dig into Highgate’s boozy past.
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Google map with pubs covered in previous episodes pinned, c...
Barristers, beers, and a cat in a ruff. Wigs, wigs, and more wigs as we visit Holborn’s most storied drinking establishments. Walk with us as we uncover a 400-year-old survivor of the Great Fire, an Olde White Horse popular with judges, lawyers, and clerks for centuries, the George VI at LSE, and The Old Bank of England - a former bank vault now serving up pints and pies in exchange for pounds. Cheers!
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