Saturday, February 5, 2022

It was the best of times...

 ...it was the worst of times.

aka "Two Cities" by Dickens

Below is Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub...where Dickens liked to stop.  Fleet St. no date given.


There has been a pub at this location since 1538, but it was rebuilt in 1667 after being damaged in the Great Fire of London, and parts of the lower cellars are even older. As you descend down one of the treacherous stone staircases, you’re drawn into the atmospheric set of rooms with bars of varying size. The building was previously home to a monastery, and as such there is a dizzying array of chambers, cellars and tunnels to navigate; all are home to little corners to tuck up into with a drink in hand.

The establishment is currently owned by Sam Smith’s Old Brewery. Their pubs are a go-to for beautiful buildings, traditional ales and cosy interiors. There are no big brands, just brilliant offerings from their own brewery in Tadcaster, Yorkshire.


Given its apparent age, it’s no surprise that Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese lays claim to having had Charles Dickens, Samuel Johnson and George Orwell within its walls at some point. Partly as a result of the long list of famous patrons, ‘the Cheese’ is often referred to as a Fleet Street landmark, and it’s hard to argue that this is anything but a fitting title. So grab yourself a proper pint and explore the maze and the cuttings on the walls, and know that you’re walking in the footsteps of a few literary greats (and many lesser drunks).

Source: Culture trip

Sharing with Sepia Saturday this week!



26 comments:

  1. Wikipedia finds links to Oliver Goldsmith, Mark Twain, Alfred Tennyson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, P. G. Wodehouse, Anthony Trollope, Robert Louis Stevenson and W.B. Yeats. I've been in there too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, it's a veritable literary magnet, isn't it! Be sure to add your name over on Wikipedia.

      Delete
  2. Hello,
    I love the Fleet Street photos. Take care, enjoy your day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks...I enjoy your Sat. Critters, and oh my, all the comments! Sometimes I skip it because I know you're reading each of them!

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. I do like a good English Pub. (Saying from movies and books, but never been in any except American copies!)

      Delete
  4. What a treat! Wish I could pop in for a pint.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OK, it does sound like a great place to visit, but I worry that troops of tourists might just fade the ambiance!

      Delete
  5. That’s some history. The place sounds fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I would say late 1800s for the photo, very possibly early 1900s
    Fascinating!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good guesses! If you're traveling back in time, you can check it out!

      Delete
  7. I wish I'd known where Fleet Street was and Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub in relation to our hotel in 2019 when we visited London. Now I'll have to look on a map to see how close or far away we were. The only thing I knew about Fleet Street before today was from the movie about the barber of Fleet Street which, of course, was fictitious - or so we hope. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha ha...I'm laughing that you would have tried to go to this pub. I'm sure there are a few dozen more pubs that were quite close to your hotel...perhaps as historic also! But it will be good to see how far you were from this place.

      Delete
  8. Such a great photo with the dapper man in front. And nice to see a recent comparison shot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apparently it's possible to sit here at my desk in North Carolina and find such interesting photos...put them together with a few paragraphs of interest, and here we are!

      Delete
  9. I enjoyed your original choice of topic which made a great post, linking the pub to Charles Dickens . A possible theme fornthe future linking people and places. Thank you for the idea.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You have a great imagination...and I'll be glad to follow along at some future point. Do you know what happened with Sepia Saturday this week?

      Delete
  10. Replies
    1. I might think of visiting it, among a few dozen other sites!

      Delete
  11. This is lovely! We have a couple of old buildings like this.
    There was a pub that used to be a bank, with stone walls, and ticky passages in the basement. ots of fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh the passages in the basement...that would be a fun activity, especially with a pint to help.

      Delete
  12. I'll add my name to those who have visited it, though I can't remember if I ever had a pint there. Lots of pubs survive because of their loyal clientele, and on this Sepia Saturday weekend I feel that we, the steadfast few, have all arrived for our usual libation only to find the pub is closed for some unknown reason. Happily, thanks to you and N'gail, we can still entertain ourselves standing outside the locked door. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've got to go there.

    It sounds like a good setting for a play.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely photos of an iconic landmark. We have one or two older pubs in New York City, but certainly not one with as long-lived as "The Cheese."

    ReplyDelete

There is today, more than ever, the need for a compassionate regenerative world civilization.