Battle of Britain’s oldest pubs wages on as skilled compares every boozer’s claims

A confusing and everchanging debate about what exactly is the oldest boozer in Britain is rumbling on. From acclaimed alehouses to illustrious inns, it’s often a hot topic of debate with all manors of buildings trying to claim the title

James Wright, a building archaeologist, has just reignited such debates with a thread on X, formerly Twitter. The author has given the lowdown on all things old pubs, setting out those with the most worthy claims to the coveted title.

As part of his research he says one of the claims, among some of the most famously fabricated ones, are based on “shaky foundations” and that it’s more complicated to determine which is actually the oldest pub. On a quest for answers, he’s shared his findings.

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The penman behind book ‘Historic Building Myth Busting’, published in June, said: “There are many claims for the oldest pub in Britain. The most famous is the Trip to Jerusalem at Nottingham: reputedly opened 1189, but this was invented in 1909 by the landlord.”

He said in reality it’s a 17th century building that was used as a pub by 1751, so could not claim the title. He said the oldest claimed date for a pub however came connected to the Old Ferryboat in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. Located in the medieval market town, he said its claims of being a pub since 560AD were “a bit of a stretch”.

“It’s an early modern building w/ one wing that is late mediaeval. Unlikely to find evidence of serving beer from a time when we’re not even sure if King Arthur was real,” he adds.

Of The Fighting Cocks in Hertfordshire he said its earliest serving date for beer might be 1756, compared to its claim of 793. He said the reality was a “big difference” from the claim.

“Porch House at Stow-on-the-Wold claims to be carbon dated to 947,” he adds. “Tricky that, as no such data exists and the property is 17th century in date. It has only been claimed to date to the tenth century since a newspaper press release in the 1970s… essentially a marketing campaign.”

He then goes through the history of The Bingley Arms in West Yorkshire, saying: “[It] is frequently claimed to date to 953. It’s also said to hold Guinness World Record for oldest pub. Yet Guinness do not monitor such a category & the building is mid-18thC in date. Lots of claims but all on shaky foundations.”

Citing what he believes are some of the actual oldest pubs he references the Henry Tudor Inn at Shrewsbury, the Saracen’s Head in Nottinghamshire and the Bull Hotel at Ludlow. But there’s one with a claim more probable than all the rest.

Finally, he adds: “It may be possible to name the oldest pub in the country. There are archival records, buildings archaeology and dendrochronology which point to a late fourteenth century inn which may just take the crown.”

Keeping quiet on exactly which one that is, it’s quite possible it’s a South West boozer.

Historic England says several pubs claim to have been mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 but it clearly states fourteenth century The George Inn, in Somerset, has the strongest claim to be England’s earliest surviving purpose-built inn.

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