The Swan - Bayswater Road, London, UK.
Posted by: marcius
N 51° 30.695 W 000° 10.615
30U E 695890 N 5710496
Records trace The Swan back to 1721 - the first date written in the licensed victualler's register - but it's widely believed to have been an inn for much longer.
Waymark Code: WM125VE
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/06/2020
Views: 3
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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