Sign for Olde Watling Pub, City of London, England, United Kingdom - Freehouse
Ye Olde Watling is located in Watling Street, one of Britain’s most famous Roman roads. It is also a stone’s throw away from St Paul’s Cathedral and is said to have been built by Sir Christopher Wren himself. Apparently, brine-sodden timbers gleaned from old ships were sold cheaply to builders in the 17th century and these were used in the construction of the building. The reason why Wren broke off from the far more important task of building St Paul’s to throw up a quick pub was apparently to provide accommodation for the men working on the cathedral project, with the inn’s upstairs rooms being used as the drawing offices. This is not Sir Christopher’s only hostelry, it appears – he is also said to have built the Old Bell Tavern in nearby Fleet Street to house the masons rebuilding St Bride’s Church after the 1666 fire.
Size: 2848px × 3596px
Location: City of London, England, UK
Photo credit: © Grazyna Bonati / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1666, 17th, anglican, builders, century, christopher, church, city, drink, england, fire, food, freehouse, great, hostelry, house, kingdom, london, londonl, olde, pub, public, restaurant, sign, united, watling, workers, wren
