09/10/2026
It is where your Nan used to drink, so maybe we are?!
LIVERPOOL'S OLDEST PUBS
What the Records Reveal — And What Remains a Mystery
WHICH IS REALLY LIVERPOOL'S OLDEST SURVIVING PUB? 🍺
Ask that question in almost any Liverpool boozer and you'll probably start an argument before you've finished your pint.
Ye Hole in Ye Wall claims 1726. Thomas Rigby's carries the same date on its building. The Denbigh Castle has a reported history stretching back to 1815.
But what if one of the most interesting pieces of historical evidence belongs to a pub that rarely gets mentioned in the argument?
The Pig & Whistle on Covent Garden.
We've identified a remarkable advertisement reproduced in a historical publication and attributed to 1832.
It names George Watson as proprietor of the Pig and Whistle and describes an already established business serving meals, w**es and spirits, with private rooms and accommodation.
That raises a fascinating possibility: the Pig & Whistle may have a much longer history than some modern accounts suggest.
But it also raises a bigger question.
How do we actually establish the age of a Liverpool pub?
Out in Liverpool has been examining historical records and published research into the city's surviving drinking establishments, including trade directories, newspaper references, architectural records, licensing histories and local historical studies.
What we've discovered is considerably more complicated than a straightforward list of Liverpool's ten oldest pubs.
Some establishments have remarkably strong documentary histories. Others have intriguing early references that still require verification.
And several famous dates relate to buildings rather than proven opening years.
Our investigation isn't about proving Liverpool's landlords wrong.
It's about discovering how far back the surviving historical evidence takes us.
An early record establishes that an establishment existed by a particular date. It doesn't necessarily tell us when it first opened.
Likewise, the absence of an earlier record doesn't mean an older claim is false.
With that understood, here's what we've discovered.
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PART ONE — THE EARLIEST DOCUMENTED AND SUPPORTED DATES
The following establishments are presented broadly chronologically, using the earliest dates identified during our investigation.
Some are supported by reproduced historical documents or official heritage records. Others rely on specific references identified by historical researchers, where the original documents remain to be examined.
These are not proven opening dates or a definitive oldest-to-newest ranking.
DENBIGH CASTLE — 1815
Evidence: Supported historical lead — original directory outstanding
Hidden away on Hackins Hey, the Denbigh Castle is one of our most intriguing contenders.
Its published history identifies William Williams as a victualler in Gore's Liverpool Directory of 1815.
Historical researcher Glen Huntley also reports that Williams died at the Denbigh Castle in 1827.
We've identified a later historical directory entry naming Miss Clara Cox at the Denbigh Castle, 10 Hackins Hey, although its publication year has not yet been securely established.
The crucial question is what the original 1815 directory actually says.
Does it name the Denbigh Castle? Does it establish Williams's precise address? Can we securely connect him to the surviving premises?
Until that entry is examined, 1815 remains an important historical lead rather than an independently authenticated date for the pub.
Its position at the beginning of our chronology reflects the earliest reported date identified in our research — not proof that it predates every other Liverpool pub.
The establishment subsequently underwent alterations, changes of name and a period of closure before reopening as the Denbigh Castle in 2020.
Its history may extend further back. That remains to be established.
PIG & WHISTLE — 1832
Evidence: Historical advertisement reproduced in a published work
This may be the most surprising discovery of our investigation.
A historical advertisement reproduced in Tripe: A Most Excellent Dish and attributed to 1832 identifies the Pig and Whistle in Covent Garden, Liverpool.
Its proprietor was George Watson.
The advertisement describes the establishment as:
"OLD ESTABLISHED"
That is particularly significant.
The advertisement doesn't describe a newly opened business. Watson actually thanks customers for their patronage since he took over the establishment.
That suggests the business existed before his proprietorship, although it doesn't establish how much earlier.
The Pig and Whistle offered beef steaks, chops, cutlets and tripe, alongside w**es and spirits.
Private rooms, dinners prepared at short notice and accommodation were also advertised.
It was clearly more than somewhere to stop for a quick drink.
A separate contemporary bankruptcy notice from September 1832 identifies a George Watson of Liverpool as a publican. Whether this was the same individual has not yet been established.
Historical research also suggests earlier connections dating to 1828, around 1816 and possibly the late eighteenth century.
Those leads still require verification.
But the reproduced advertisement provides substantial evidence for a named hospitality establishment selling alcohol in Covent Garden by its attributed date of 1832.
Its original publication, exact licensing status and connection to today's numbered premises remain under investigation.
The Pig & Whistle could eventually prove to have one of Liverpool's strongest claims to a much earlier drinking-house history.
For now, 1832 is the strongest date supported by the reproduced evidence we've examined.
ROSCOE HEAD — 1835
Evidence: Supported historical reference — original newspaper outstanding
The Roscoe Head is famous for its traditional character and its place in Liverpool's real-ale history.
Historical researcher Glen Huntley identifies G. A. Green in connection with the pub in the Liverpool Mercury of 2 October 1835.
The establishment is also reportedly identified on the 1847 Ordnance Survey map.
These provide promising historical leads, particularly because the newspaper reference gives us an exact publication date.
Until we've examined the original report, however, 1835 remains supported rather than independently authenticated.
THE GLOBE, PARK ROAD — BEFORE 1835?
Evidence: Provisional — historical address unresolved
The Globe may have an even earlier history.
Glen Huntley's research suggests that the establishment was operating under that name before 1835.
Other identified references include Edward Wyke running a b**r shop on Park Road in 1837 and a Liverpool Albion notice dated 17 February 1840 concerning the Globe's lease.
But there's a complication.
Park Road underwent changes in street numbering.
Before connecting an early b**r-shop record to today's Globe, we must establish that the historical addresses refer to the same premises.
The Globe and Roscoe Head cannot yet be placed in a reliable chronological order.
The earlier date remains a promising lead rather than an established position.
ROSE & CROWN, CHEAPSIDE — 1840
Evidence: Corroborated historical accounts
The Rose & Crown has a remarkable connection to Liverpool's religious history.
On New Year's Day 1840, a group of Catholic businessmen reportedly gathered at the tavern in Cheapside.
Their discussions helped establish the Society of St Francis Xavier, which became an important part of Liverpool's Catholic community.
Thomas Burke's Catholic History of Liverpool, published in 1910, identifies the meeting and names Mr Kirby as the proprietor.
The history of St Francis Xavier's Church also confirms a meeting at the Rose & Crown in 1840.
These are retrospective historical accounts rather than an original 1840 licensing record.
Nevertheless, they provide meaningful corroboration of a named tavern operating by that date.
The establishment may have been older. Its opening year remains unknown.
LION TAVERN — 1841
Evidence: Supported historical lead — licensing register outstanding
The Lion Tavern on Tithebarn Street has a fascinating history involving early drinking establishments, oyster rooms and later rebuilding.
Its published history identifies Richard Herdman in the 1841 Ale House Registers.
Other historical accounts describe a spirit house and oyster establishment around 1842.
Historic England dates the present building to approximately 1865.
Those dates are not necessarily contradictory.
An establishment may operate on a site long before the building we recognise today is constructed.
The outstanding task is to authenticate the original 1841 licensing entry and establish precisely which premises it describes.
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THREE PUBS FROM THE 1850s
The next three establishments cannot yet be placed in a precise chronological order.
The Saddle Inn has a decade-level date, while Peter Kavanagh's and Ye Hole in Ye Wall have evidence associated with 1854.
THE SADDLE INN — 1850s
Evidence: Official heritage documentation
Historic England identifies the Saddle Inn at 17 Dale Street as a public house dating from the 1850s.
This provides strong architectural and historical evidence for its use as a pub during that period.
But the listing doesn't establish an exact opening year.
We therefore cannot confidently place it before or after the establishments documented in 1854.
PETER KAVANAGH'S — 1854
Evidence: Official heritage documentation
Peter Kavanagh's on Egerton Street has one of the clearest histories in our investigation.
Historic England records that No. 2 Egerton Street became a licensed public house called The Liver in 1854.
The premises were subsequently rebuilt and enlarged around 1877.
In 1892, the establishment became The Grapes, and Peter Kavanagh became its licensee in 1897.
He eventually bought the pub in 1928 and redesigned its remarkable interior in 1929.
Although it became locally associated with his name much earlier, it was officially renamed Peter Kavanagh's in 1977.
Its extraordinary interior is an important part of Liverpool's pub heritage.
But for this investigation, the crucial evidence is the officially documented 1854 licensed use.
YE HOLE IN YE WALL — 1854
Evidence: Specific contemporary newspaper reference identified
Ye Hole in Ye Wall is perhaps Liverpool's most famous claimant to the oldest-pub title.
Its traditional founding date is 1726.
Our separate investigation identified a Liverpool Mercury report dated 4 August 1854 naming Thomas Williams as a b**rhouse keeper at No. 4 Hackins Hey.
We also identified evidence of commercial activity at the address during the 1840s.
What we haven't yet authenticated is a contemporary drinking-house record establishing the 1726 claim.
The 1854 reference establishes a historical lead we can investigate and compare against earlier records.
It doesn't establish when the first drinking establishment opened at the address.
Our separate investigation into Ye Hole in Ye Wall examines that evidence in greater detail and is available on the Out in Liverpool website.
YE CRACKE — 1863
Evidence: Supported historical lead — original licensing notice outstanding
Ye Cracke is well known for its associations with Liverpool's artistic and musical history.
Its earlier identity was the Ruthin Castle.
Glen Huntley's historical research identifies a licensing notice in the Liverpool Daily Post dated 2 September 1863.
The same research reports that the property was recorded as a private house in 1861.
If authenticated, these records may help establish when the premises first became licensed.
For now, 1863 remains a specifically supported historical lead.
THE VINES, LIME STREET — 1867
Evidence: Official heritage documentation
The Vines demonstrates why the age of the present building doesn't necessarily reveal the full history of a pub site.
Historic England records that the existing building was constructed in 1907, replacing an earlier nineteenth-century pub associated with Albert B. Vines from 1867.
The building we recognise today is Edwardian.
The documented pub-site history is older.
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PART TWO — THE OLDER CLAIMS STILL AWAITING VERIFICATION
Some Liverpool establishments have traditional dates that reach further back than the records we've authenticated.
These claims deserve investigation, not automatic dismissal.
THOMAS RIGBY'S — 1726
Rigby's Buildings carries the date 1726.
Historic England, however, records that the building was rebuilt around 1850. The site also has a historical association with the Palatine Public House.
That means the façade date cannot be used to establish that the entire surviving building dates from 1726.
It does not rule out an earlier pub on the site.
The question remains: when did the Palatine, or an earlier drinking establishment, first operate there?
THE GRAPES, ROSCOE STREET — 1804
The Little Grapes is commonly associated with the year 1804.
CAMRA repeats this date, but our investigation has not yet authenticated a contemporary record establishing drinking-house use in that year.
The claim remains open.
MA EGERTON'S — 1846
Ma Egerton's is associated with an 1846 building date and an earlier identity as The Eagle.
But a building's construction date and its first public-house licence are not necessarily the same.
We still need to establish when the premises first operated as a licensed drinking establishment.
THE MONRO — THE GEORGIAN QUESTION
This is one of the most intriguing unresolved cases.
Historic England describes the Monro at 92–94 Duke Street as a late-eighteenth-century public house.
That is a significant official heritage assessment and deserves serious consideration.
Yet other historical descriptions identify the building as a former Georgian merchant's residence. An 1817 date has also been suggested for its use as a b**r, w**e and spirit merchant.
There are several possible explanations.
The building may have changed use. Different accounts may refer to different phases of its history. Or the heritage description may identify the building's architectural period and later recognised use without establishing when its first public-house licence was granted.
We cannot resolve those possibilities simply by choosing the oldest date.
What we need are early occupiers, trade-directory entries and licensing records for the exact address.
The Monro could ultimately change our chronology considerably.
For now, its eighteenth-century building date is officially supported, but an exact eighteenth-century pub-opening date has not been established.
PIG & WHISTLE — POSSIBLY OLDER THAN 1832
Although its 1832 advertisement is supported by a published reproduction, earlier references have been reported.
If those records can be authenticated and connected to the same establishment, its documented history could move further back.
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WHAT ABOUT THE PHILHARMONIC DINING ROOMS?
The Philharmonic Dining Rooms is one of Britain's most extraordinary historic pubs.
Built between 1898 and 1900, its Grade I listing recognises its exceptional architectural and historic importance.
But being one of Liverpool's most significant pubs isn't necessarily the same as being one of its oldest.
The Philharmonic deserves recognition without forcing it into an earlier chronology.
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HOW WE INVESTIGATED
Our research has drawn on Historic England's National Heritage List, historical directories, nineteenth-century newspaper references, published historical studies, CAMRA heritage material and the histories of individual establishments.
Not all these sources establish the same thing.
Some historical documents have been reproduced and can be examined.
Some dates are supported by official heritage records.
Others are based on specific newspaper or directory references identified by researchers, where the original pages remain outstanding.
We've kept those distinctions visible throughout.
We've also contacted Liverpool Record Office seeking further documentation, including the reported 1815 Denbigh Castle directory entry, the 1835 Roscoe Head newspaper reference and the Lion Tavern's 1841 licensing record.
The sources include Historic England's listings for Peter Kavanagh's, the Saddle Inn, Rigby's Buildings, the Monro and the Vines; the reproduced Pig & Whistle advertisement; Thomas Burke's Catholic History of Liverpool; Glen Huntley's historical research; and contemporary newspaper and directory references.
The detailed source links and outstanding records are identified in the accompanying research comment.
Our findings will be updated if additional evidence becomes available.
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SO WHICH IS LIVERPOOL'S OLDEST?
We cannot yet establish a definitive winner.
The Denbigh Castle has the earliest specifically identified directory lead in our current investigation.
The Pig & Whistle has a particularly valuable reproduced advertisement attributed to 1832.
The Roscoe Head, Globe, Rose & Crown and Lion Tavern all have promising early nineteenth-century histories.
And establishments such as the Monro, Rigby's and the Grapes may have earlier histories that our investigation has not yet authenticated.
There's another complication.
What exactly makes a pub the oldest?
The original building? The first licence? The same site? The same name? Or an uninterrupted history of serving customers?
Those are different questions, and they may produce different answers.
Our investigation examines the earliest identifiable drinking-house histories of selected establishments trading today. It is not an exhaustive survey of every pub in Liverpool, nor proof that any establishment has traded continuously since the date shown.
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CAN LIVERPOOL HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERY?
Somewhere there may be an old licensing certificate, a forgotten directory, a family photograph or a newspaper cutting that takes one of these establishments further back.
Perhaps a landlord has records passed down through generations.
Perhaps a former publican's family has documents nobody has examined for decades.
We'd love to see them.
Liverpool's oldest pub may not be the one with the oldest date above its door. It may be the one whose history we can trace furthest back through surviving records.
And if genuine evidence changes our findings, we'll update them.
Because Liverpool's history deserves to be investigated, not simply repeated.
So which Liverpool pub do you believe has the strongest claim to being the city's oldest — and what evidence might help establish it?
