The building is erroneously said to date back to Tudor times, and to have been a licensed premises since 1623, but in fact dates from the early 18th century,[2] or according to its official listing, perhaps from 1688.[1] The building became a pub in 1772.[2]
Situated in what was a violent area of Covent Garden, the pub's upstairs room once hosted bare-knuckle prize fights,[3] leading to it being nicknamed "The Bucket of Blood".[4] A plaque on the building commemorates an attack on John Dryden in a nearby alley in 1679, when Charles II sent men to assault Dryden in objection to a satirical verse against Louise de Kérouaille, Charles II's mistress.[5] Writer Charles Dickens frequented the pub in the 19th century.
Many of the internal fittings are Victorian woodwork or earlier, including a remaining partition, meriting the pub a maximum three-star rating as a Real Heritage Pub.[6]