Historic Pubs
West
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The Old Ship - 25 Upper Mall, W6. Hammersmith or Ravenscourt Park tube, 10 minute walk.
The Old Ship combines the bright and modern with historical charm, to which is added a winning mix of good food and an even better location. A busy and popular pub, the Old Ship overlooks a quiet stretch of the Thames just west of Hammersmith, and is a short stroll from the ancient Dove establishment.
With a balcony, extensive interior and exterior seating, and a nearby green, there is always a spot to settle down with a beer or glass of wine. The relaxed atmosphere (except around the TV when the sport's on) and food a cut above the average make this a pub lunch destination par excellence.
Bull's Head - 15 Strand on the Green, W4. Gunnersbury Tube.
Right on the river, the Bull's Head is a popular sixteenth-century inn said to have been a hiding spot of Oliver Cromwell during the Civil War. If this pub is crowded, the City Barge (founded 1484) is only a few yards away.
The Dove - 19 Upper Mall, W6. Hammersmith or Ravenscourt Park Tube.
One of a number of Hammersmith riverside pubs, but the most authentic. Low beamed ceilings, wall settles, and the cosy-sized rooms reflect the pub's 300 year history. Grab a seat out on the river-side terrace or in the adjacent conservatory if you can.
Prince Alfred - 9 Formosa Street, W9.
One of London's pub oddities, the Prince Alfred offers Victorian 'snob screens' that divide the bar into five. This basically allows you to sit your own private bar, as each compartment has access to the bar and an exit from the premises.
South
Raven - 140 Westbridge Avenue, SW11.
Built in 1580, this is the oldest pub in Battersea. Reputedly a smuggler's inn in centuries past, there's a roaring fire in winter and barbeques in the courtyard during summer.
Mayflower - 117 Rotherhithe Street, SE16.
A busy riverside inn that witnessed the departure of the Pilgrim Fathers in the seventeenth century from a nearby mooring. The original 'nautical' pub.
Anchor Bankside - 34 Park Street, SE1.
Few pubs have as much of a history as this small riverside inn. The present building dates from 1770, but a pub has stood here for ten successive centuries. Samuel Johnson wrote part of his famous dictionary here.
George Inn - 77 Borough High Street, SE1.
This sixteenth century pub is owned and preserved by the National Trust. London's only surviving galleried coaching inn, it was once an important staging post for travellers to and from the city.
Trafalgar Tavern - Park Row SE10. Greenwich or Maze Hill BR, Cutty Sark DLR.
Built in 1837 on the site of an earlier pub, the Trafalgar is a Greenwich institution. Featured in Dicken's Our Mutual Friend, the pub has attracted its fair share of important visitors, who no doubt enjoyed the impressive views of the Thames, which in more recent times have also included an eyeful of the Dome.
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