Oldest pub in England (AD 560)

[Wulfhere]

This distinction is said to belong to the Old Ferry Boat, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, dating to AD 560.

The Old Ferry Boat Holywell near St Ives Cambridgeshire sits in this pretty hamlet by the Great Ouse. The Old Ferry Boat is reputedly England's oldest inn, built before the last millennium. The beautifully thatched roof and white stonework stand as a monument to travellers who once rested here centuries ago, after quenching their thirst and satisfying their hunger with the finest English fare. It was constructed in Anglo-Saxon times, and historical documents record that liquor was first retailed here as early as 560 A.D, although experts estimate that the foundations are a century older. Today the inn is a delightful place to stay offering a very warm welcome and great hospitality to all its guests. Large car park.

http://www.oldenglishinns.co.uk/st-ives/

[Loki]

It's funny, I've heard many different claims to the "oldest pub in England" crown. I've been to one famous one in Nottingham which claims exactly the same.

[Wulfhere]

It's funny, I've heard many different claims to the "oldest pub in England" crown. I've been to one famous one in Nottingham which claims exactly the same.

Yes, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, but that only dates to 1189.

[heathen_son]

The Olde Trip lied to me!

[Wulfhere]

The Olde Trip lied to me!

At least three pubs in Nottingham claim to be the oldest in England, the others being Ye Olde Salutation Inn and The Bell.

[Magister Eckhart]

Interesting; although I'll say myself that it's definitely re-built; it doesn't look period to the sixth century.

[Wulfhere]

Interesting; although I'll say myself that it's definitely re-built; it doesn't look period to the sixth century.

I agree. It claims to have earlier foundations, but what really counts?

[Magister Eckhart]

I agree. It claims to have earlier foundations, but what really counts?

It claims to have foundations dating before the 560s but from the advert you'd think the actual structure has been around longer than the Vikings. There's no way that building is pre-millennium, even if the site is.

It seems to me that operation within the same family, completely uninterrupted operation, or operation in the same building would be the only three things that give any business of this nature the right to claim "oldest". For example, there are breweries in England and Germany that have remained in uninterrupted operation since the High Middle Ages, in the same buildings and by the same people (the Trappists in the Low Countries fit this too). These can rightfully claim "est'd. 1156", or whatever year they were established. I'm not sure the Old Ferry Boat or The Old Trip to the Jerusalem are entitled to make the same claim.

I'd also say that "Old Ferry Boat" is definitely not the original name of the establishment.

[Wulfhere]

It claims to have foundations dating before the 560s but from the advert you'd think the actual structure has been around longer than the Vikings. There's no way that building is pre-millennium, even if the site is.

It seems to me that operation within the same family, completely uninterrupted operation, or operation in the same building would be the only three things that give any business of this nature the right to claim "oldest". For example, there are breweries in England and Germany that have remained in uninterrupted operation since the High Middle Ages, in the same buildings and by the same people (the Trappists in the Low Countries fit this too). These can rightfully claim "est'd. 1156", or whatever year they were established. I'm not sure the Old Ferry Boat or The Old Trip to the Jerusalem are entitled to make the same claim.

I'd also say that "Old Ferry Boat" is definitely not the original name of the establishment.

The "old" is a bit of a giveaway, at the very least. There are quite a few pubs from the Middle Ages where, even if the original building has survived largely intact, it has had much larger extensions built onto it, dwarfing the original structure.