Why this site exists
Search for the oldest pub in England and you will get a dozen confident answers, most of them repeating a date printed on a pub sign. Nobody sets the claim beside the record. That gap is the whole reason for this site.
Every pub here carries three dates — the year it claims, the earliest year a document supports, and the age of the standing building — plus a grade for how good the evidence is, and a note on whether it is still trading. Nothing is hidden behind a subscription, and no pub can pay to move up the list.
What we are not
We are not a review site. We do not rate the beer, the food or the welcome, and we have no opinion on whether you should go. We are not affiliated with any pub, pub company or brewery, and we do not take payment for inclusion, position or wording.
We are also not the last word. Local historians, county archivists and the pubs themselves know things we do not. When they tell us, we change the page and say we changed it.
How it is put together
The research is done by reading heritage listings, licensing records, archive catalogues, dendrochronology reports and local history, then writing down what they actually say. The site itself is a static one: there is no database, no login, no tracking of individuals, and the running cost is close to nothing, which is what lets it stay free.
How we date a pub sets out the rules in full — what counts as a pub, what each grade means, how the ranking works and what would make us change our mind.
Who writes it
Research, writing and checking are done in-house by the OldPubs desk and signed off before publication. Corrections are handled by the same desk and logged publicly with the date and what changed. You can reach us through the contact page.
How it pays for itself
Advertising, through Google AdSense, and nothing else — and none of it is running yet, while the account is set up. There are no affiliate links, no sponsored pubs and no paid placements anywhere on the site. Ads never appear on the map, inside the Pint Passport or between rounds of the quiz, and never above the first heading of a page.
Corrections and additions
If a date here is wrong, send us the document. If an old pub is missing, tell us where it is and what it claims, and it goes into the research queue. If a pub on this site has closed or reopened, that is the most useful message you can send us, because it changes the ranking.
Drinking
This site is about buildings, records and places. It is not about how much anyone drinks. It is for adults of legal drinking age, and if drinking is causing you trouble, drinkaware.co.uk has help.
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