The Oldest Pub in Britain
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks has been open since 793 AD
In February 2022, the oldest pub in Britain went into administration. Open since 793 AD, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St Alban's, Hertfordshire, has lived through more than 1,200 years of history, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, it struggled with lack of business and was forced to close. We meet the landlord Christo Tofalli to learn about the pub's history and its value in the community.
Ye Olde Fighting Cocks has lived through more than 1,200 years of history, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, it struggled with lack of business and was forced to close. ‘There’s the hope that something will turn around and there’ll be some kind of miracle’, says Richard Watson, the local vicar. ‘I had to phone the brewery, to tell that it was over. That was a toughie’, says landlord Christo Tofalli.
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