Here is the oldest house in the City of London

We are at 41-42 Cloth Fair, and this house, built between 1597 and 1614, is the only one that survived the English Civil War and the Great Fire of London.

Oldest House City of London — © Wonders of London

The house is located next to St Bartholomew’s Church and also survived the Blitz during the Second World War.

The building was originally part of a larger scheme of eleven houses with a central courtyard, known as “The Square in Launders Green”, conceived by a friend of the royal family at the time, Henry Rich.

And it probably managed to survive the fire of 1666 because it was enclosed within a large set of priory walls.

It came close to being demolished a few times, for example in 1929 when it went under review for demolition by the City of London Corporation.

Holborn Viaduct London — © Wonders of London

Most recently in 1995 the building was purchased by a new group of owners and completely refurbished. Precisely for this reason, in 2000 it even received the City Heritage Award!

Inside the property, on the windows, there are the signatures of some famous people such as Sir Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother, and you can find the original wooden railing of the stairs which is still in place after more than 400 years.

And just think, there are rumours that there are skeletons in the foundations!

The house is inhabited, the owner is a great lover of history, and the value of the house up until a few years ago was 5.5 million pounds.

If you’re curious you can watch the video of the oldest house in the City of London on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter!