Ye Olde Fighting Cocks

We’re quoting from CNN:

“An English pub that claims to be the oldest in Britain is closing due to financial problems worsened by the pandemic. Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St. Albans, just north of London, has been in business since 793 AD, according to its website. Now it has closed its doors “after a sustained period of extremely challenging trading conditions,” according to a statement from landlord Christo Tofalli, posted on the pub’s Facebook page on Friday.

Britain’s pub industry was struggling even before the pandemic, as people ditched drinking in pubs for bars, restaurants and their homes. 

Between 2008 and 2018, more than 11,000 pubs closed their doors, according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, reducing the total number by almost a quarter.

The main structure of Ye Olde Fighting Cocks was built in the 11th century and was originally used as a pigeon house, according to the local tourist board. The pub took its name from the cock fights that were held there in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Oliver Cromwell reportedly slept one night at the inn during the English Civil War.Ye Olde Fighting Cocks used to be recognized as the oldest pub in England by Guinness World Records, but the record title is now inactive, a spokeswoman for Guinness told CNN.

Record holder or not, this may not the pub’s final chapter.A spokesperson for Mitchells & Butlers, the brewery that owns the premises, said it was working to reopen it.”

We hope so. It’s a shame that the pub culture has faded. We need more places where locals can go to their local and everybody knows their name.

• Jet Cannon

Photo: Wikipedia