The Swan - Bayswater Road, London, UK. - Pubs and Inns on Waymarking.com

There is an information board for the pub that reads:

"THE SWAN

The Swan is the last relic of Flora Tea Gardens and Skittle Alley and stood on the site for over 300 years. The first documented evidence of a licensed inn keeper is on a licensed victualler list for 1721. As a coaching inn it is reputed to have been the final drinking place for victims of the gibbet at Tyburn Gallows which we now know as Marble Arch. Claude Duval the famous highwayman who was very active on the London to Edinburgh Road is alleged to have had his final drink here before being hanged at Tyburn in 1670."

Indeed, it has been suggested that the terms “one for the road” and “on the wagon” were first coined here under such circumstances. The local jailer would often draw up with the prisoner’s cage outside and request “one for the road” - a final beer for the prisoner. After the horses had pulled them away, men at the bar would say, ”he's on the wagon” - alluding to the fact that the prisoner would never drink again…

Real Ale: yes Bar Food Available: yes Restaurant: no Children Allowed: All areas Dogs Allowed: no Garden: no CAMRA Listed: no Accommodation: no Beer brewed on site: no Website: [Web Link] General comments: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/08/2022 Master Mariner visited it