The Castle, Farringdon

The Castle is a Grade II listed public house at 34-35 Cowcross Street, Smithfield, London.[1]

The Castle in Farringdon
The Castle, Cowcross Street, Farringdon
General information
Address	34-35 Cowcross Street
Town or city	London
Country	United Kingdom
Groundbreaking	1865
Completed	1867
Design and construction
Architect	H. Dawson
Website
www.thecastlefarringdon.co.uk

A public house of this name has existed on this site since at least the 18th century.

Eliza, the wife of Sir John Soane, was born on the same site in 1760.

It was once frequented by King George IV, who issued the landlord with a pawnbroker's licence and handed over his gold watch to obtain some cash after losing money on a cockfight. There is still a pawnbroker's sign on the outside of the pub.

Construction of the current building by the architect H. Dawson started in 1865[2] and it was opened on 21 November 1867.[3]

References

1. Historic England. "The Castle public house (1208567)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
2. Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (1998). The Buildings of England. London 4 North. Yale University Press. p. 627. ISBN 9780300096538.
3. "The Castle Hotel, Cow-Cross". London City Press. British Newspaper Archive. 23 November 1867. Retrieved 7 September 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.