Ye Olde Fighting Cocks is a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

in St Albans, Hertfordshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is one of several pubs that lay claim to being the oldest in England, claiming to have been in business since 793 AD. The pub was once recognized as the oldest in England by the ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'', but this title was wrested in 2000. The building is described by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

as being of 16th-century appearance, but as the earliest date for which it can be proved to have been

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

is 1756, and even that date is not certain, its claim to this record is somewhat uncertain. Others such as the Ye Olde Man & Scythe in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, and

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is a Grade II listed public house in Nottingham which claims to have been established in 1189, although there is no documentation to verify this date. The building rests against Castle Rock, upon which Nottingham Cast ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

may have better claims. Even in St Albans, the

White Hart The White Hart (" hart" being an archaic word for a mature stag) was the personal badge of Richard II, who probably derived it from the arms of his mother, Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent", heiress of Edmund of Woodstock. It may also have been a ...

and the

Fleur de Lys The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

(currently called 'The Snug') are believed to have been trading as inns in the

late medieval period The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

Location

The pub is at the end of Abbey Mill Lane beside the

River Ver The Ver is a long chalk stream in Hertfordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Colne. Course The source is in the grounds of Lynch Lodge, Kensworth Lynch on the west side of the A5 trunk road and stays on the west side for som ...

, just outside the perimeter of

Verulamium Park Verulamium Park is a park in St Albans, Hertfordshire. Set in over of parkland, Verulamium Park was purchased from the Earl of Verulam in 1929 by the then City Corporation. Today the park is owned and operated by St Albans City and District C ...

, not far from

St Albans Cathedral St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...

in Hertfordshire.

Architecture

The main structure is free-standing and has an octagonal appearance, attributable to its original use as a

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

house. It has been added to over the years but the original timber-framed structure is clearly visible. It was originally close to

(when it was St Albans Abbey) and was moved to the present site sometime after the dissolution of the Abbey in 1539. Its foundations are claimed to be even older, dating from around 793 but again this is dubious. It is claimed that there are tunnels running between the cathedral and the pub's beer cellars which were once used by monks. As with many old buildings, the ceilings are quite low. An original bread-oven is next to one of the fireplaces. It has a large

beer garden A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees. Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...

with different seating arrangements, as well as seats out the front.

History

The main structure of the building was built in the 11th century and was originally used as a pigeon house. The building, in its current location, was originally known as The Round House but there is no record of it being licensed as a public house under that name. The first known reference to it being an alehouse is in 1756 when it appears to be trading as The Three Pigeons. Around 1800 its name changed to the Fighting Cocks, perhaps in reference to the sport of

cock fighting A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

which was popular at the time and which may have taken place in the main bar area. The prefix " Ye olde..." is a late Victorian affectation. It is known by locals as 'The Fighters' or 'The Cocks'. In 1950 the building was

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

. In 2015 PETA wrote to the pub's landlord and its owners,

Mitchells & Butlers Mitchells & Butlers plc (also referred to as "M&B") runs circa 1,784 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom. The company's headquarters are in Birmingham, England. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange an ...

, requesting that they change the name due to its cockfighting association. The request was declined. In February 2022, the pub went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

, though the owner was hopeful that a buyer would be found for the business.

In popular culture

The Cocks was featured in an exterior scene in "The Sins of the Fathers", a 1990 episode of the ITV series ''

Inspector Morse Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series '' Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...

''. The setting was the beer garden along the

, with the pub's large sign plainly visible in the background. It also features in the third series of Ricky Gervais' sitcom '' After Life''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olde Fighting Cocks, Ye Pubs in St Albans Grade II listed pubs in Hertfordshire Olde Fighting Cocks Octagonal buildings in the United Kingdom Timber framed pubs in Hertfordshire