The Castle is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

at 34-35

Cowcross Street Cowcross Street is a street in London. It runs east–west, from St John Street in the east, to Farringdon Road in the west. Farringdon Station is on the corner of Cowcross Street and Turnmill Street. The Castle is a public house opposite F ...

, Farringdon, London. A public house of this name has existed on this site since at least the 18th century. Eliza, the wife of

Sir John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...

, was born on the same site in 1760. It was once frequented by

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

, who issued the landlord with a

pawnbroker A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...

's licence and handed over his gold watch to obtain some cash after losing money on a

cockfight A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

. There is still a pawnbroker's sign - three brass balls - on the outside of the pub and a smaller one inside. Construction of the current building by the architect H. Dawson started in 1865 and it was opened on 21 November 1867.

References

Buildings and structures in Clerkenwell Grade II listed pubs in London Smithfield, London Commercial buildings completed in 1867 Pubs in the London Borough of Islington Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Islington {{pub-stub