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Today on The Historic London Pubcast, we pop into one of the most infamous historic London pubs - The Star Tavern, Belgravia - a posh boozer with a past more scandalous than a tabloid double spread.

From the Great Train Robbery London plot meetings in the upstairs bar, to the steamy Profumo Affair that rattled Parliament, this episode uncovers how one cozy pub became a vortex of British pub scandals. We’ll meet the dashing but dastardly cat burglar Peter Scott, whose Hollywood victims such as Elizabeth Taylor might’ve unknowingly shared a pint with their own thief. Seriously.

Host Eric Blair also dives into the pub history London nerds crave — including how Belgravia’s snobbery shaped the pub’s design, and why CAMRA Good Beer Guide loves this spot like no other. Plus: a toast to Fuller’s Brewery London, and their iconic London Pride beer.

If you’re into London true crime, Belgravia history, famous London pubs, or just want an unfiltered London pub podcast experience with London travel tips baked in that also makes it a good London travel podcast, this one’s for you.

Perfect for fans of 1960s London scandals, London history podcasts, or anyone plotting their next London walking tour. Grab a pint and hit play.

Show Map

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/4/edit?mid=12c-WKa3XiT1qTLydK8psZocUR7Y_Wes&usp=sharing

References

• Ted Bruning  -- Historic Pubs of London (ISBN 978-0658005022) and London By Pub (ISBN 978-0658005022)
• Wikipedia
• https://londonspubswherehistoryreallyhappened.wordpress.com/  by Ann

Intro Music:

Vivaldi - Spring Allegro by John Harrison with the Wichita State University Chamber Orchestra

Website: https://historiclondonpubcast.com

E-mail: [email protected]

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London, 1679. A poet insults the King’s mistress, a scandal brews, and fists fly in a shadowy alley. Welcome to The Historic London Pubcast where we dig up fascinating stories from London’s historic pubs. 

In this episode, Host and Guide Eric Blair takes us to The Lamb & Flag on Rose Street, a gem among historic London pubs. Today it’s a cozy pub with wood beams and crackling fires beckoning on foggy London day. Once, however, it was dubbed the “Bucket of Blood” thanks to its upstairs bare-knuckle brawls. This Covent Garden classic served up one of London's most infamous alleyway assaults - when poet John Dryden got jumped over his use of satire. 

Along the way, we hear of: Historic London pub crawl secrets, the scandalous rise of Nell Gwynne, King Charles II’s mistress, the literary beef between Dryden and the wild Earl of Rochester, the dark side of London pub history, and juicy true crime from Covent Garden’s cobbled past. 

Whether you’re into London walking tours, British literary history, or just want to explore historic pub stories with a pint and a plot twist, this is your stop.

Perfect for fans of London pub podcasts, London travel tips, London history podcasts, or anyone planning a trip with a side of scandal. Think of it as your London travel guide, or London travel podcast, with better beer and great stories.

Listen now - because history isn't just in museums… sometimes, it's overheard in the back room of a pub.

Show Map

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/4/edit?mid=12c-WKa3XiT1qTLydK8psZocUR7Y_Wes&usp=sharing

References

• Ted Bruning  -- Historic Pubs of London (ISBN 978-0658005022) and London By Pub (ISBN 978-0658005022)
• Wikipedia
• https://londonspubswherehistoryreallyhappened.wordpress.com/  by Ann Laffeaty
• Robert C Elliott – Satire, Britannica.com
• https://www.thenellgwynne.com/
• John Dryden - Essay Upon Satire, public-domain-poetry.com

Intro Music

Vivaldi - Spring Allegro byJohn Harrison with the Wichita State University Chamber Orchestra

Website: https://historiclondonpubcast.com

E-mail: [email protected]

Send us a text

Step through the narrow alley off Fleet Street and into another century at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, perhaps the most famous of all Historic London Pubs, and well known among Fleet Street pubs. 

In this debut episode of The Historic London Pubcast, Host and Guide, Eric Blair walks us through London pub history, leading us beneath the low beams and gaslit corners of a London Pub that was rebuilt in 1667 on the site of an older pub destroyed by The Great Fire of London, 1666.

This is not your ordinary London history podcast. It’s a show about the architecture, history, legends, and people whose stories we tell in the context of the neighborhoods the pubs we visit are located in. So, part London pub podcast, part London history podcast, and since it’s crammed with Londo travel tips across all of London’s Boroughs, most definitely, London travel podcast. 

If you're planning a London walking tour, researching a London travel guide, or need real-life London travel tips, or just want some fun pub stories to impress your mates, or win your pub quiz, this show is your new go-to.

This fun episode has history, mystery, famous patrons such as Charles Dickens, Samuel Johnson, and Mark Twain, and yes, a parrot with a sailor’s mouth – Polly The Parrot. Now deceased and perched, stuffed, above the bar. 

Welcome to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, and welcome to The Historic London Pubcast. We’re glad you stopped by.

Show Map

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/4/edit?mid=12c-WKa3XiT1qTLydK8psZocUR7Y_Wes&usp=sharing

References

• Ted Bruning  -- Historic Pubs of London (ISBN 978-0658005022) and London By Pub (ISBN 978-0658005022)
• Wikipedia
• https://londonspubswherehistoryreallyhappened.wordpress.com/  by Ann Laffeaty
• https://londonist.com/london/history/elephant-ye-olde-cheshire-cheese-pub

Intro Music

Vivaldi - Spring Allegro by John Harrison with the Wichita State University Chamber Orchestra

Website: https://historiclondonpubcast.com

E-mail: [email protected]

Send us a text

Gin-uinely excited to be visiting more great Gin Palaces of London. We see the last 3 on our Top 5 list - The Viaduct Tavern with its cellar prison cells and ghosts, the stunningly beautiful pub - The Princess Louise and eborn marvel that is The Crown and Sugarloaf. Guide, Eric Blair shares tales of famous trials at the Old Bailey, London’s first public drinking fountain, a Cholera cure, Grade II Listed protected urinals, and even a royal scandal or two. It’s history with a twist, and dare I suggest, ice and lemon?

So yes, we’re talking haunted London pubs, secret prison cells, Victorian London history, and enough mirrored mahogany to out glitter a mirror ball. 

We’ll also hear tales from the Old Bailey London, learn why a public fountain once drew 7,000 Londoners a day, and find out which pub’s Gents toilets are so posh, they’re Grade II listed heritage protected.

Perfect for fans of London pub history, London ghost stories, hidden gems London, and anyone looking for a spirited guide to the best pubs in London. Whether you're on a London pub crawl, planning a London walking tour, or love a London travel podcast, London pub podcast, or London travel podcast, this episode serves the stories and London travel tips with a twist of gin and a splash of scandal.

Show Map

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/4/edit?mid=12c-WKa3XiT1qTLydK8psZocUR7Y_Wes&usp=sharing

References

• Ted Bruning  -- Historic Pubs of London (ISBN 978-0658005022) and London By Pub (ISBN 978-0658005022)
• Wikipedia
• https://londonspubswherehistoryreallyhappened.wordpress.com/  by Ann Laffeaty
• https://www.viaducttavern.co.uk/
• Isobel Watkins - Underground Prison Cells And Pesky Poltergeists: Is This London’s Most Haunted Pub?, designmynight.com
• The First Public Drinking Fountain, atlasobscura.com
• The Princess Louise Pub, londonupclose.com
• Camra -Pub Heritage - Historic Pub Interiors, pubheritage.camra.org.uk

Intro Music

Vivaldi - Spring Allegro byJohn Harrison with the Wichita State University Chamber Orchestra

Website: https://historiclondonpubcast.com

E-mail: [email protected]

Send us a text

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

Website: https://historiclondonpubcast.com

E-mail: [email protected]