The Peahen 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 ...

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England. The pub has been managed by

McMullens Brewery McMullen's, known locally as Mac's, is a regional brewery founded in 1827 in Hertford, England. The brewery expanded during the second half of the 19th century by purchasing other breweries and their associated pubs. In 1902 it was the secon ...

since 1936.

History

There has been an inn on the site since the fifteenth century. The original half-timbered building served as one of a number of

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

s on Holywell Hill which runs into St Albans from the south. From the late 1600s, St Albans was a major stop for coaches heading north from London through

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

. This road followed the tortuous route via Sopwell Lane and Holywell Hill into the town centre. When the New London Road bypass was completed in 1796, the Peahen benefited now being the first inn for traffic arriving from London. The inn was rebuilt at the end of the nineteenth century. By this time the coaching era was over, but the Peahen continued to offer stabling into the twentieth century.The old Inns of St Albans
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References

External links

website
Coaching inns Pubs in St Albans {{pub-stub