Ye Olde Mitre

Ye Olde Mitre is a historic London pub tucked off Hatton Garden, built in 1546 by Bishop Thomas Goodrich as a private tavern for his palace staff. Located on land governed as part of Cambridgeshire until the 1960s, the pub houses the remains of a cherry tree that Queen Elizabeth I reportedly danced around with Sir Christopher Hatton. In 1546, the adjacent Ely Palace was the site of James Butler's fatal unsolved poisoning.

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

Ye Olde Mitre, 1 Ely Court, Hatton Garden, London EC1N 6SJ

Why was Ye Olde Mitre in London historically governed under Cambridgeshire licensing laws?

Look around you. Can you spot the entrance? Don't worry if you can't... Ye Olde Mitre is tucked down a narrow alleyway between numbers eight and nine Hatton Garden. It's one of the hardest pubs to find in all of London, and that's entirely by design. Because this place was never Meant for you and me.......... The first tavern on this site was built by Thomas Goodrich, Bishop of Ely, for his servants in fifteen forty-six. Think about that. This was a private drinking house for the household staff of one of England's most powerful clergymen... tucked inside the grounds of a magnificent palace surrounded by lush gardens, vineyards, and the finest strawberry beds in London. In Shakespeare's Richard the Third, the Duke of Gloucester actually asks the Bishop of Ely to send for some of those famous strawberries.......... But here's where the story gets truly strange. The Bishops of Ely thought their palace was too beautiful to be part of London, and declared it part of Cambridgeshire. And incredibly... Ye Olde Mitre's licensing laws only stopped being administered by Cambridgeshire in the nineteen sixties! There's even an urban legend that criminals could flee here and be safe from the Metropolitan Police... because technically, this wasn't their jurisdiction.......... Now. Step inside and look to the right of the entrance. You can view the remains of a cherry tree that Queen Elizabeth the First and Lord Chancellor Sir Christopher Hatton allegedly danced around when it was used as a Maypole. And Who was this Hatton? In fifteen sixty-one, Hatton played the part of Master of the Game at a masque at the Inner Temple, and his dancing quickly won him the Queen's favour and the nickname "The Dancing Chancellor." Elizabeth was so taken with him that she wrote a famous letter to the Bishop of Ely demanding he hand over his garden-land to Hatton. It read simply: "Proud Prelate. You know what you were before I made you what you are now. If you do not immediately comply with my request, I will unfrock you, by God." The bishop surrendered. And that is why Hatton Garden, now the heart of London's diamond trade, bears his name to this day.......... One more dark secret about this ground. On the seventeenth of October, fifteen forty-six... the very Same year this pub was built... James Butler, ninth Earl of Ormond, was invited to dine at Ely Palace. He was poisoned, along with his steward and sixteen of his household. He died eleven days later. The murder was never solved.......... Finding this vibrant, historic pub is truly a test of pub-going initiative... but now that you've passed the test, you'll find a fine selection of craft beer and real ales, including guest ales and real scrumpy cider. It's run by Fuller's, and the beer here is poured with the kind of care that four and a half centuries of tradition demands. Cheers.

Nearby stories