Rules restaurant in London given to National Trust

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 00:27 · Archive

London's oldest restaurant, Rules, founded in 1798, has been donated to the National Trust by its owner.

Rules, established in 1798, has become London's oldest restaurant and a historic institution in the capital's theatreland. The restaurant has changed hands only three times in its 228-year history, most recently when JP Mayhew purchased it in 1984. The Daily Mail values the building at £11 million.

The restaurant's four-storey home at 34-35 Maiden Lane contains historic playbills, vintage caricatures and gilded antlers that have remained largely unchanged since the 19th century. The menu has maintained its focus on traditional English fare, including oysters, which cost £5.75 each, and classics such as steak and kidney pie at £26.25. The restaurant has been favoured by notable figures including Charles Dickens, Charlie Chaplin, Laurence Olivier and Ava Gardner. King Edward VII dined there with actress Lillie Langtry, with a curtain specially installed for privacy.

Mayhew has now donated the historic building to the National Trust, believing the heritage charity will protect it "in a way that no one else could". The restaurant will continue operating under existing owner Ricky McMenemy as a commercial Trust tenant. Mayhew stated that the Trust would "safeguard its bricks and mortar, its famous interior and its invisible atmosphere too".

How it is being reported

• London's oldest restaurant, Rules, 'where kings dined and politicians and writers plotted', given to National Trust to safeguard futureEstablished in 1798, when Napoleon was still a rising star, it has been serving traditional English fare ever since, in the ownership of just four families, under two queens and eight kings.Daily Mail · 14 Oct, 00:03
• Rules, London’s oldest restaurant, donated to National TrustHistoric eatery in capital’s theatreland given to heritage charity after changing hands only three times in 228 years When Thomas Rule served his first oyster to diners on Maiden Lane in London’s Covent Garden, “mad” George III was on the throne of England, John Adams was US president and William Pitt the Younger had just come up with a wheeze called income tax to pay for the Napoleonic wars. More than two centuries later, Rules , the restaurant Thomas founded in what became the capital’s theatreland, has outlasted nine British monarchs and 45 prime ministers – but has changed hands only…The Guardian · 14 Oct, 00:01

In this story: Rules · National Trust · JP Mayhew · London · Maiden Lane · Covent Garden · Thomas Rule · Ricky McMenemy

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