The Footman is a

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 ...

in Charles Street, Mayfair, long famous for its sign, which used to read, in full, ''I am the only Running Footman. ''At 24 characters, this was the longest pub name in London until modern pubs were created with fanciful names such as ''The Ferret and Firkin in the Balloon up the Creek.''

Footmen A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...

were originally employed to run ahead of a carriage to ensure the way was clear. As roads got better and clearer the demand for their services fell away and many were re-employed as household servants. One footman instead bought the tavern, then called the Running Horse, and renamed it after himself. The establishment was first built in 1749 and rebuilt in the 1930s. The pub is believed to have been the inspiration for the Junior Ganymede Club, a fictional club in

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

Jeeves Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie W ...

stories. It is a significant location in

Martha Grimes Martha Grimes (born May 2, 1931) is an American writer of detective fiction. She is best known for a series featuring Richard Jury, a Scotland Yard inspector, and Melrose Plant, an aristocrat turned amateur sleuth. Biography Grimes was born in ...

's 1986 mystery novel ''I Am the Only Running Footman'', which takes its title from the pub.

References

Mayfair Pubs in the City of Westminster {{pub-stub