Photos and First
Impressions
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| Streetside View |
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| The Bar |
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| A Straight Shot, Front to Back |
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| A Straight Shot, Back to Front |
Chronicling from the
Barstool
Like the Seven Stars, the
Hoop and Grapes stands amongst a handful of buildings to survive the Great
Fire—and just barely: Allegedly, the flames were within 50 yards of the front
door. As such, the Hoop and Grapes is the oldest licensed pub in the city.
Though technically the Spaniards Inn’s structure predates it, given the
Spaniards location in Hampstead, I assume it wasn’t subsumed into London proper
until much later. So I guess Hoop and Grapes wins on a technicality—though the
Spaniards Inn is a far superior pub in my estimation.
Again, like most old
pubs, there’s an explanation for the seemingly odd name. At its start, the pub
was known as the Hops and Grapes to indicate that it served both beer
and wine (how fancy!). My guess is that the name morphed over time for phonetic
ease, but I must say I appreciate the early branding strategy. Simple, direct,
and tied to the product. Might work that example into a future lecture and see
if I can write off these bar tabs as a business expense…
The building itself is
pretty simple too. It’s laide out like an old shotgun home: long and narrow,
with a rather small bar along one side. A massive fireplace takes up much of
one wall, though I don’t believe it’s in use any longer, which is a shame. The
look is fairly standard, with dark wood paneling and white walls on one half of
the pub, and exposed brick on the other. At the rear, there’s a small stage
area for live music and other performances.
Overall, I’m not exactly
sure how I feel about this one. It’s a fine pub, don’t get me wrong, but
revamps and modernization have come at the expense of old charm. If I didn’t
know its lineage, I would have assumed it was a newer pub emulating an older
one, so it’s weirdly become a caricature of itself.
I suspect Nicholson’s
undertook this effort to attract clientele when they acquired the boozer, and I
can’t argue that point: Business was booming when I was there. Still, I find it
an odd strategy to make an old thing look new, then age it to look old. Why
abandon the genuine article for a knockoff? I couldn’t help but judge the old
Hops and Grapes marketing strategy the stronger effort.
Also in the pub’s
founding year of 1593…
- Elizabeth I rules England.
- Roman Inquisition begins with trial of Giordano Bruno.
- Christopher Marlowe stabbed to death follow a dispute over a lodging bill.
- Long War between Hungary and the Ottoman Empire begins.
- Adrian van Roomen calculates Pi to 15 decimal places.
On Draught
St Austell Brewery
4% ABV
Pretty interesting cask
ale because of its sweetness. I get a faint hint of cinnamon in this one, which
probably comes from whatever malts they use, but it’s a smooth finish.
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