The Spaniards Inn

The Spaniards Inn

One of the oldest pubs in London, The Spaniards has a few stories to tell. It was built in 1585 as a tollgate on the Finchley boundary and named after the Spanish Ambassador to James I of England. Charles Dickens and John Keats were among its well-known visitors. Dickens immortalized the pub  in “The Pickwick Papers”. And Keats (allegedly) penned “Ode to a Nightingale” here. The Spaniards Inn also got a shout-out in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”. Rumor has it that highwayman, poacher, burglar, horse thief and killer Dick Turpin was born here. Ask the bar staff for ghost stories!

More info: https://www.thespaniardshampstead.co.uk/#/
Photo: © The Spaniards Inn 2022

Guide me

Hear this story where it happened, along with the others around it. Say how many days you have and what you are into, and we put together a route through these places, with a voice guide telling each story as you arrive.

Guide me

Written by Holly Golightly

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