In search of Britain’s oldest pubs

‘When you have lost your inns, drown your empty selves, for you will have lost the last of England.’ So said Hilaire Belloc. Thankfully there’s little sign of England, or indeed Britain, being down to its last pub – but which was its first? As ever with these debates, a definitive answer is hard to find: accurate record-keeping wasn’t a priority several centuries ago, when the pubs pulled their early pints. But here are a few of the boozers with a claim to be the country’s oldest.

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, St Albans

This watering hole is first on the list because it has Guinness World Records on its side – or rather it did until 2000, when Guinness retired the category of ‘oldest pub in England’ because they’d never really been sure about the answer. The pub’s foundations are said to date from 793, though the current building is largely 11^th century in origin.