England's oldest pub, possibly 1,229 years old, shuts doors due to coronavirus hardships

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Europe

England’s oldest pub, possibly 1,229 years old, shuts doors due to coronavirus hardships

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks has survived civil and world wars, famine and the spread of the bubonic plague



Ye Olde Fighting Cocks is a pub near the River Ver in St. Albans, England. (William Booth/The Washington Post)

By Annabelle Timsit
Today at 8:52 a.m. EST|Updated today at 1:32 p.m. EST

LONDON – The Ye Olde Fighting Cocks pub in St. Albans, England, has seen it all: Since its first brick was laid, possibly as early as 793, near the ruins of an ancient Roman city well before the United Kingdom was formed, the drinking house has survived civil and world wars, famine and the spread of the bubonic plague.

But hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic mean the pub — which Guinness World Records has reportedly called England’s oldest, though others contest that title — is shutting its doors.

Christo Tofalli, who took over the lease of the heavily beamed pub in 2012, told The Washington Post that the pandemic and the government’s public health restrictions squeezed his business until he couldn’t meet its financial obligations.

Its insolvency leaves Mitchells & Butlers, which owns the pub, open to seeking new management of the possibly more-than-1,200-year-old business.

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By Annabelle Timsit
Annabelle Timsit is a breaking news reporter for The Washington Post's London hub, covering news as it unfolds in the United States and around the world during the early morning hours in Washington. Twitter https://twitter.com/BelleTimsit

The story is posted here too. This did not show up in a search I made just before I posted:

Mon Feb 7, 2022, 01:57 PM: England's oldest pub, possibly 1,229 years old, shuts doors due to coronavirus hardships

[SWBTATTReg]

1. This is unfortunate, but all of us have been affected by businesses closing, some not

reopening, etc., and it's terrible, both for the customers and the business employees and owners too. My best to all in these times, and all of us working together (under COVID guidelines of course) will emerge stronger than ever before.

[Demovictory9]

2. He needs a gofundme

[sinkingfeeling]

3. I ate there in May 2002. Then we left my BIL there to drink while my sister and I explored.

[CentralMass]

4. :-(

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. The landlord said trading conditions were "extremely tough" before the pandemic, but the effects ...

The landlord said trading conditions were "extremely tough" before the pandemic, but the effects of Covid-19 were "devastating" and left the pub struggling to meet its financial obligations.

Link to tweet

[XanaDUer2]

6. So sad nt