Cittie of Yorke History
A pub has stood on this site since 1430. The first pub was approximately a quarter of the size of today’s ground floor bar and stood between the back door of the main hall and the stove. The pub that stood here in 1666, survived the Great Fire of London, due to the fire stopping by Holborn Circus. Unfortunately, though, by the late 1600’s this pub had fallen into disrepair.
In 1695 the pub was rebuilt to its present size, excluding the front lounge, and was named the’ QUEENS HEAD’. In the next century, a garden was planted in front of the pub, and the name was changed to ‘The Queens Head Coffee House’. Sadly, again, the pub had been allowed to fall into disrepair by the 1800’s
GEORGE HENNEKEY, a wine merchant purchased the pub in 1831 and rebuilt it again, to its present size and specifications. The famous long bar, which Hennekey became known for, and in which he went on to build in many of his pubs, originally extended from where it is today, along the entire length of the great hall through the wall that separates the front lounge and the bar, and all the way to the front windows of the building. As was common in those days, the pub consisted of a Saloon Bar which was the larger of the two rooms serving mainly wines, ports and spirits, and a Public Bar in the front predominantly serving beers.
The rear most and largest of the three rooms with the great high vaulted ceiling, covers the ground occupied by the original Coffee House and contains much of the original fabric.
THE CUBICLES were part of Mr Hennekeys design, and were included to accommodate the legal profession that surrounded the pub. Many lawyers and solicitor would meet their clients in one of the booths, for a more casual conversation, rather than meeting in chambers.
HR COPPER PLAQUES
After Hennekey died in 1838, at the age of 55, the wine importing business carried on under his name. There were, however, no Hennekeys involved in its running. During the 19th century, the firm changed hands multiple times, becoming Hennekey Kislingbury & Co, then Hennekey Barker & Co, then Hennekeys Abbott & Co, then Hennekey Rogers & Co. During the time the Rogers family were involved in the business, the copper plaques you see at the front of each cubicle with HR on them – Hennekey Rogers – were added.
STOVE
The triangular stove in the main hall dates back to 1817 and was purchased by Mr. Hennekey in 1897. (See History of the Stove)
Having survived the bombs of WWI, the building which had been showing regrettable signs of decay, was partially demolished and reconstructed in its present form in 1924. Much of the old material was carefully preserved and incorporated in the present building.
RENAMING THE PUB – 1975.
The present owner, Samuel Smith Old Brewery, purchased the pub in 1975. The pub was renamed the ‘Cittie of Yorke’, after a 16th Century pub that had stood in the Staple Inn’s – the timber framed building on the other side of the road.
Next to the pub is the gatehouse to Gray’s Inn, where Charles Dickens describes David Copperfield having temporary residence. Dickens himself worked for some time as a clerk at Gray’s Inn. Dickens also wrote about the connection between this pubs cellar and the Gordon Riots in his book Barnaby Rudge. The cellar bar of today, is the old wine and beer cellarage of the 17th century Coffee House. (See History of the Cellar Bar) .
DRAINING OF THE VATS
During the Blitz on London in WW2, the Landlord of the day drained the port from the large Port Vats, above the main bar, out into the gutter, for fear they may come down and cause more damage than a bomb. This act was witnessed by locals and many of the local drinkers scooped up the port from the gutter into jugs and bottles or anything they could, for their own consumption later.
FAMOUS CUSTOMERS. The lounge today, is decorated with portraits of some of the local residence of Holborn, who lived close by to the Cittie of Yorke, and may have been customers at one time or another. Two customers known to have taken a drink here were Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice Davis – their photograph hangs at the end of the main bar. Also, poet Dylan Thomas, while seated in one of the booths, famously penned his ode to ‘Mr Watts-Evans new hotel’ in 1951, on the back of notepaper from the Apollo Society. (See Dylan Thomas Poem) – on the front wall.
RECENT HISTORY. After Samuel Smiths purchased the pub in 1975, the long bar was cut down to its present size and the front public bar was carpeted and turned into a lounge, including a small bar of its own in the nor-east corner. In 2010 this little bar was removed and the present-day chesterfield couches were moved into that space. The stove, originally had three working fire grates – the one closest to the snug was closed up in 2019, due to disrepair.
The building is now listed and deemed by the local council to be a Building of Historical Interest.