Ye Olde Cock Tavern dates back to 1549, and lays claim to the narrowest frontage of any pub in London. It is also said to be home to a terrifying ghost.
Ye Olde Cock Tavern became a meeting place for some of England’s greatest literary minds. Samuel Pepys mentioned eating and drinking in the tavern in his many works, Samuel Johnson wrote the first English dictionary here. And, Charles Dickens and Alfred Lord Tennyson were also frequent patrons. Playwright and novelist, Oliver Goldsmith loved the tavern so much that when he died his body was buried outside the tavern. His ghost still calls it home today.
In 1984, Goldsmith’s ghost materialised in front of customers at Ye Olde Cock Tavern causing a small panic. One morning a pub worker arrived early for her shift and when she walked through the back door something horrific was awaiting her.
When she looked up after putting her keys away, she found herself staring into the grinning face of a floating head. Her bloodcurdling scream was so loud it’s said to have been heard throughout the adjoining buildings. Later when she was telling her story, she looked at a portrait of Oliver Goldsmith and confirmed that was the man she had seen.
