The Old Bank of England

The Old Bank of England is a grand pub on Fleet Street in London, built in 1886 as a Bank of England branch whose vaults once held gold bullion. Designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield, the Italianate building served legal professionals from 1888 until 1975 before opening as a pub in 1994. The location sits directly above legendary underground tunnels linked to Sweeney Todd.

London Β· from the walk β€œLast Orders Through the Ages” Β· audio ~3 min Β· Generated

Old Bank of England, 194 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2LT

What did the underground vaults of the Old Bank of England on Fleet Street originally hold?

Look up at those soaring ceilings and enormous chandeliers. You're standing in what might be the most jaw-droppingly grand pub in all of London... but not a single pint was poured here for over a century.......... This magnificent building was constructed in eighteen eighty-six by Sir Arthur Blom-field in a grand Italianate style, with three massive chandeliers and an extraordinarily detailed plaster ceiling. And here's a delicious detail about the architect... the young Thomas Hardy β€” yes, The Thomas Hardy β€” once worked as an assistant in Blom-field's practice. Blom-field was the ninth son of the Anglican Bishop of London β€” a church man's boy who built a temple to money.......... From eighteen eighty-eight to nineteen seventy-five, this was the Law Courts branch of the Bank of England. Barristers and judges from the Royal Courts of Justice next door would stride in here not for a pint... but to deposit their fees. And what did those vaults beneath your feet once hold? Gold bullion... and according to legend, even the Crown Jewels for a period. Today, those underground vaults that once housed the nation's treasure are used for storing beer, wine, and spirits. From gold bars to beer barrels β€” now That is a career change.......... After the bank closed, the building remained empty and unused for nearly two decades before it was refurbished and restored as a pub in nineteen ninety-four.......... Now, the beer itself tells a story. This pub is operated by Mcmullen's Brewery, and that's a name worth knowing. Mcmullen's is a regional brewery founded in eighteen twenty-seven in Hertford, England. It was started by Peter Mcmullen, the son of an Irish nurseryman. And get this β€” members of the Sixth generation of the Mcmullen family are still involved with the business. Their signature brew, A K, is a mild beer that's been brewed in Hertford since eighteen thirty-three β€” nearly two hundred years of continuous production. If you order one here, you're drinking living history.......... But let's talk about what lies Beneath this building... because the tunnels under your feet carry a far darker legend. This location sits famously directly between Sweeney Todd's barber shop and Mrs. Lov-ett's pie shop! According to the story, Todd's barber shop sat at one eighty-six Fleet Street, next to Saint Dun-stan's church, connected to Mrs. Lov-ett's pie shop in nearby Bell Yard by an underground passage. And the Old Bank of England? It sits Right on top of that route.......... Now, most historians agree that Sweeney Todd is a fictional character. He first appeared in a penny dreadful serial called The String of Pearls, published in eighteen forty-six to eighteen forty-seven. Claims that he was a historical person are disputed strongly by scholars, although possible legendary prototypes exist. But real or not... when you descend to the lower bar and feel the age of those walls around you, it's hard not to wonder what those tunnels have seen.......... So raise a glass of Mcmullen's finest. You're drinking ale from one of Britain's oldest family breweries, in a room that once held the nation's gold, above tunnels tied to London's most infamous legend. Cheers!

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