You can easily miss it.
Tucked down a side alley that leads from Hatton Garden, with its gaudy jewelry shops, to the stunted Ely Place, Ye Old Mitre is a world in itself.
It has a fascinating history which is well described here. I love that much of the land was owned by the Bishop of Ely (hence the street names with Ely in the title) and declared by him to be part of Cambridgeshire, and may well technically still be. So you are not technically in London when you visit this place! The pub, which was originally a place for the servants of the Palace of the Bishop of Ely to drink in the sixteenth century, was actually licensed by the county of Cambridgeshire until the 1960’s.
Although there is no record of Charles Dickens having frequented the place, the adjective that springs to mind when you turn into Ely Court is “Dickensian”. It’s a small glimpse of a lost London. One where you could imagine Bill Sykes standing outside to plot a theft with some reprobate acquaintances, Bullseye dozing at their feet, one eye still half-open suspiciously scanning the scene.
If you are looking for a drink, one tip. Ye Old Mitre doesn’t open on a Sunday. So you can look but can’t sup on the sabbath. I turned up on a Sunday but will return on a week night. Its a Fuller’s pub and will be worth the effort.
