Standing mere yards from Aldgate East station, The Hoop & Grapes is truly one of the old school of London pubs. Built sometime in 1640 as a private house, it barely escaped the Great Fire of 1666, which stopped just yards from its door.
After the fire wooden buildings were forbidden in the City and now this pub is now the only surviving 17th-century timber-framed building in the City of London. Over the years it became a wine shop and then, 150 years ago, a pub.
This place oozes history; the front leans at a strange angle (almost falling over in the 1980’s, before extensive structural engineering took place to keep it all together). The cellar entrance is blocked up, and local legend has it that it leads to the Tower of London.
The front part is original and has some interesting features. The rear has been opened out into a large bar and dining area. There is a good selection of real ales and the food is reasonably priced.
47 Aldgate High Street
Aldgate, EC3N 1AL
Aldgate East
[tags]pubs, timber framed, great fire, 1666, [/tags]
These are the ramblings of 
That should be Hoop and Grapes, not Hope and Grapes (which is not as good a name).
Thanks for the correction! I don’t know how I did that…