The Royal Standard of England - England’s Oldest Pub
An unexpected pleasure on my time in London was a visit to England’s oldest pub, the Royal Standard of England, which has been open for 9 centuries (approx. 950 years, or so I believe).
The welcome sign inside the entrance of the 950 year old pub - The Royal Standard of England
Here I was in this small English pub which has a lifetime of more then 3 times the number of years that Australia has been colonised by the English.
We went to dinner at this place one evening, after we had been to look at the country club where my best friend and his wife-to-be were going to be married.
It was a quaint old pub, with all sorts of interesting things on the wall and ceiling, and is famous for its ancient timbers and stained glass windows.
The unusual name of this ancient tavern comes from a fascinating story back in the 1600’s.
It seems that Charles 1st sought shelter here during his 6-week flight from Cromwell’s troops, after the Battle of Worcester. The landlord at the time risked execution by helping to hide Charles in the inn.
As a show of his gratitude for the brave innkeeper who helped save his life, Charles bestowed the name of “The Royal Standard of England” on the inn, referencing the famous flag which is only flown by the sovereign. Apparently the Royal Standard is in direct descent from the arms of William the Conqueror.
“Since Saxon times ale has been served here for over 900 years” (quote from their website)
The beams are black with the stain (and paint) of ages, and parts of the floor are uneven and pitted with rocks. I guess you’d look a little black and tired if you were 950 years old as well! 
An interior photo of the fireplace and ancient beam
Anyway, we ordered dinner and I had a good laugh when I tried to order a Lemon, Lime & Bitters for a drink…
Seems the bar staff had never heard of this drink (a big surprise to me - I figured most countries would know it), and couldn’t figure out whether it was meant to be a pint of bitter with some lemon & lime in it or not!
In the end, we talked them through the art of creating an LLB and sat down to enjoy our meal & the drinks.
Dinner at the Royal Standard of England
It was a pleasant evening in this amazing pub, but I think I’ll let the rest of my pictures do the talking, since they’ll say it much better than I…
an outside view of the Royal Standard
The King Charles room, from the outside
Upper view of the front of the Standard
One of the Standards famous stained glass windows
The bar inside the Royal Standard pub
Me standing in front of the seat where we ate our meal - great looking decor :-)
A lovely old light shining outside the Royal Standard
If you’d like some more info about the Royal Standard of England Freehouse (pub/inn/tavern), drop by their website here: Royal Standard of England
The closing comment about the story behind how this pub came to get its name is this:
Over time a traditional tale told about the pub is that the young Prince Charles hid up in the priest’s hole in the roof space on his way to escape to France in 1651, after the battle of Worcester. After Charles II’s restoration to the throne, the pub was rewarded by the new king in 1663 for giving support to his executed father and his cavaliers, when they raised his Royal Standard.
He honoured the landlord by agreeing to change the name of the pub from The Ship to “The Royal Standard of England“, the only pub in the country with the honour of the full title, and reverting back to the royal Wessex dragon. Though the royalists were well served by the loyal landlord during the civil war, a more human reason emerges for the royal gesture for the pub’s name change. King Charles II was obliged to the landlord while he met his mistresses in the rooms above. The shrewd landlord with business in mind, had cashed in on his royal guest.
Tags: charles 1st, freehouse, inn, king charles I, pub, Royal Standard of England, tavern