Drink at the Cockpit

The Cockpit, on St Andrews Hill in the City of London, is a pub with an interesting history. Previously, as the name suggests, the venue for City cock fights, it also stands on the site of one of William Shakespeare's old houses.


However, that was all a very long time ago, as we are told that a pub has been here since the 16th century, when it stood by an entrance to Blackfriars monastery, and cockfighting was outlawed at the end of the 19th century. Though the pub has apparently undergone various adjustments and name changes, the gallery from which cockfights were watched is still very obvious inside.

When your author visited on Sunday, however, the pub was rather relaxed and 24 hour news was on on the big telly. It did gain bonus points for being a City pub which opens on Sundays, though, and the downstairs toilets seemed pretty 'original'. For more information, click here to visit the excellent fancyapint.com