Spaniards Inn

History

The pub is believed to have been built in 1585 on the Finchley boundary, with the tavern forming the entrance to the Bishop of London's estate; an original boundary stone from 1755 can still be seen in the front garden. Opposite it, there is a toll house built in around 1710. Today, the pub is in Barnet and the tollhouse is in Camden: both are now listed buildings, and traffic is reduced to one lane between the two. A suggestion in 1966 to demolish the tollhouse was successfully resisted, partly on the grounds that it would lead to more and faster traffic.

Dick Turpin is thought to have been a regular at the Inn, as his father had been its landlord. What is certain is that highwaymen frequented this area and likely used the Inn to watch the road; at that time the Inn was around two hours from London by coach and the area had its fair share of wealthy travellers. Records from the Old Bailey show that on 16 October 1751 Samuel Bacon was indicted for robbery on the King's Highway, and was caught 200 yards from the Spaniards.

In 1780, rioters involved in the Gordon Riots, opposed to the relaxation of laws in England that restricted Catholicism, marched on Hampstead, intent on attacking Kenwood House, the home of William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield. The landlord of the Spaniards at the time is reported to have given them free drinks, keeping the rioters occupied until the local militia arrived, thus saving the house. In 1822, John Constable produced a landscape painting called Road to the Spaniards, Hampstead.

In literature

The pub is mentioned in Dickens's The Pickwick Papers and Bram Stoker's Dracula, and was frequented by the artist Joshua Reynolds and the poets Byron and Keats. According to the pub, Keats wrote his Ode to a Nightingale in the gardens,{{cite news|author=Humayun Hussain

The Inn features in The Man of Property, the first of The Forsyte Saga novels by John Galsworthy. Soames Forsyte take the architect Philip Bosinny to dine at the Spaniards Inn to discuss the building of his house at Robin Hill.

Food

In 2007, The Spaniards Inn was listed in 4th place by The Guardian in an article detailing the "Top 10 UK pub roasts". It was also listed by The Guardian as one of Britain's Best Pubs in 2009.

References

References

1. {{NHLE
2. (2 February 1966). "Spaniard's Inn Toll Gate". Hansard, Lords Sitting.
3. (2006-10-30). "Top 5 haunted pubs". [[The Standard (London newspaper).
4. Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb, John Keay and Julia Keay, ''The London Encyclopedia'' (London: [[Pan Books. Pan Macmillan]], 2010) p.375
5. Christopher Middleton. (20 February 2013). "The Spaniards Inn, north London, pub review". Telegraph.
6. [[John Galsworthy]] The Man of Property – [[The Forsyte Saga]] Vol. One p.108. Penguin Classics edition 2001.
7. (21 September 2007). "Top 10 UK pub roasts | Travel". [[The Guardian]].
8. Paul Carvill and Ed Hagan. (15 June 2009). "Guide to Britain's best pubs | Life and style". [[The Guardian.