The 300 year old tradition continues
55 BRITTON STREET, CLERKENWELL, LONDON, EC1M 5UQ
A one minute walk away Farringdon Tube/Train station
You can look at the pictures to see what is going on in our little place and read a little bit about our history, and the history of our neighbourhood, Clerkenwell.
We are a very small pub, with some 300-year-old panelling, Victorian wooden floors, 2 fireplaces, and a little mezzanine for more intimate encounters. We have candles on every table, and we have "candlelit Tuesdays" every Tuesday; candles only and no electric lights at the tables, it is cosy and romantic. Maybe you can bring your date, or your partner here for a nice drink and meal.
So, here goes, because you also want to know about our beers and food.
(It's a long list, sorry).
Our food menu. We have main courses and small plates, and sharing plates (because sharing is caring).
Starters ; small and sharing plates
Freshly baked sausage roll £7.5 (from 5pm)
Scandi dill smoked salmon on toast £10
Parmesan truffle fries £7
Wild boar hot dog £9
Vegan hot dog £10.5
Hot crispy squid £9
Padron peppers £9
Skin on fries £5
Whitebait £8.5
Onion rings £6
Sharing platters
Bloody Mary’s charcuterie board £18
Salome’s seasonal cheese platter £19
Mains
The Knights Hospitaller’s burger & chips £15
St. Peter’s fish & chips £18
St. John’s veggie burger £15.5
Avocado caesar salad £14
Scampi & chips £17
And see our board for our daily specials
Our kitchen is open Monday to Saturday from midday to 3pm, and then from 4pm to 8pm, and on Sunday from midday to 8pm
Our beers, ales and lagers are
Best Bitter
Ruby Red
Mayflower IPA
Route master Red
Bankside Blonde Pale Ale
Plum Porter
Citrus Ale
Pale Ale
India Pale Ale
Premium Lager
Bermondsey Pale Ale
Festival Lager
Kolsch Lager
London Black
Gold Dust
Cream Stout
Best Bitter
Hoffmeister Weisse
Hoffmeister Helles Lager
Posh Lager
Sesh IPA
Work IPA
Suffolk Gold Gluten Free
Without Original Alcohol free
Without Gold Original Alcohol Free
Ried Gluten Free Pale Ale
Ultra Low Alcohol free
And our seasonal guest beers for you to enjoy
Our cider is Raven's Orchard
Of course we do whiskeys, rum, vodka, gin, and other liqueurs , and we can mix it with anything you want.
We have wines too of course: red, rose, and white.
Not all of the beers are on at the same time, we depend on our micro breweries what they brew for us. We serve ales and beers from small independent breweries, (micro breweries, and start-up breweries from London). because we believe in helping ambitious people in our local community. And our customers love our beers. So that is a good thing, (we think). If it is cold, we will fire up our fireplace, it is a beautiful fire, and warm and cosy.
We play an important part in our local community because that is important to us (and yes, we are quite proud of that), and we welcome everyone from all over London, the UK, and all over the world.
Our Food For You, some pictures.
About us
Our tradition of hospitality is found only in our Clerkenwell our "Clerks Well"
The Holy Tavern is located within the grounds of one of London’s most ancient hostelries -The Clerkenwell Priory. The priory was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitallers in England. The monastic order of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem's beginnings goes back to the Crusades. The priory dominated Clerkenwell from its foun2dation until the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII. Bloody Mary briefly refounded the Priory that her father had partly torn down when she became Queen. Mary had fond memories of the Priory as she had often resided there when she was younger and she enjoyed watching heretics she was having burnt at nearby Smithfield market. The Priory gatehouse, just down the ancient medieval alley (St John's Path running next to The Holy Tavern), has a museum with a discretely curtained display dedicated to England's most bloodthirsty monarch - Queen Mary. Just draw back the black velvet and look upon Bloody Mary. The museum traces the history of the Knights from their origins caring for sick pilgrims through the Crusades and their modern incarnation as the St John Ambulance - the international first aid charity.
The priory was founded in the 1140s during the reign of Henry II and run on Augustinian rules. It was built on five acres of land just outside the City of London that stretched from St John's Street down to the River Fleet. The Knights dressed in black cloaks emblazoned with a white cross.
The Holy Tavern logo is inspired by the Knights Hospitallers' dress code and their swords!
Golden letters, a cross / sword on a black background.
The Knights were forced from the Holy Land by the Saracens but were granted a new home in Malta by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. However, an annual rent of one falcon was to be paid to the King of Spain.
This inspired Dashiell Hammett to write
We would love you to visit our lovely little pub in Clerkenwell.
We hope to see you soon,
Warm regards from our team: Fran, Hayley, Isabel, Max, Mila, Nanci, Marthiane, Jensen, Dave, Isabel.
And our proud managers: Hendrik, Nick (the head chef), Paul, Aziz, and Stephen.
We hope to see you soon
A COLOURFUL PAST
The Holy Tavern
The Holy Tavern is located within the grounds of one of London’s most ancient hostelries -The Clerkenwell Priory. The priory was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitallers in England. The monastic order of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem's beginnings goes back to the Crusades. The priory dominated Clerkenwell from its foundation until the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII. Bloody Mary briefly refounded the Priory that her father had partly torn down when she became Queen. Mary had fond memories of the Priory as she had often resided there when she was younger and she enjoyed watching heretics she was having burnt at nearby Smithfield market. The Priory gatehouse, just down the ancient medieval alley (St John's Path running next to The Holy Tavern), has a museum with a discretely curtained display dedicated to England's most bloodthirsty monarch - Queen Mary. Just draw back the black velvet and look upon Bloody Mary. The museum traces the history of the Knights from their origins caring for sick pilgrims through the Crusades and their modern incarnation as the St John Ambulance - the international first aid charity.
The priory was founded in the 1140s during the reign of Henry II and run on Augustinian rules. It was built on five acres of land just outside the City of London that stretched from St John's Street down to the River Fleet. The Knights dressed in black cloaks emblazoned with a white cross.
The Holy Tavern logo is inspired by the Knights Hospitallers' dress code and their swords!
Golden letters, a cross / sword on a black background.
The Knights were forced from the Holy Land by the Saracens but were granted a new home in Malta by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. However, an annual rent of one falcon was to be paid to the King of Spain.
This inspired Dashiell Hammett to write -
We would love you to visit our lovely little pub in Clerkenwell.
Warm regards from us all.
Yes, we do hope to see you soon
The building is early Georgian with much of the original interior wooden panelling preserved. Dr Johnson might well have passed by on his way to work on his dictionary.
Our house was built in 1720 as one of a street of townhouses on a piece of open ground that had originally belonged to the
Clerkenwell Priory b,y Mr Britton - and that is why our street is called Britton Srtreet
Around 1810 a shop front was inserted into the façade of Number 55 and the premises. subsequently became a watchmakers. Clerkenwell became a centre for watchmaking during the 18th century. Over the years Number 55 has had a variety of occupants.
Book publisher Burke & Co in the 1950s. Oliver Bland architects in the 1980s. And, upstairs, a short-lived notorious brothel in the 2000s!
From January 1995 to August 1996 it was The Jerusalem Coffee House. A nod to local history. It was then leased to the newly opened St Peter’s Brewery for 25 years and was renamed from the Jerusalem Tavern to The Holy Tavern. This name has long been associated with the area - three other Jerusalem Taverns have operated within three hundred yards of the present pub - though the most recent of those closed around a century ago.
Brewing and taverns are long associated with the many monasteries, abbeys and nunneries that were situated in the area.
Antiquarians date the first Holy Tavern back to the founding of the Priory in the early 1100s. The Knights Hospitallers used the health imbuing water that sprang from their well in Clerkenwell.
Clerkenwell being named after the famous Clerk's Well which was a spa resort famed for its health giving qualities.
Candlelit Tuesdays
On Tuesdays, The Holy Tavern is candlelit. Yes we are - and it's cosy. Please come and have a tipple in the candlelight - just as beers, spirits and wines were enjoyed hundreds of years ago. Take you date?
Another Photo Gallery
Steps Videos, and a bit of fun. Impromptu
We had fun.
Macarena
Jack the ripper, the great great grandfather of the co-owner Hendrik de Jong. maybe?
Jack the Ripper (my great great great grandad ?)
