The Spaniards Inn lies in Hampstead Lane on the way from Hampstead to Highgate and on the edge of Hampstead Heath.
It is believed to have been built in 1585 on the Finchley boundary, with the tavern forming the entrance to the Bishop of London’s estate – an original boundary stone from 1755 can still be seen in the front garden. Opposite it there is a toll house built in around 1710.
The Spaniards was licensed to Francis Porero, the eponymous Spaniard, in 1721. It stood at the south-west exit from Hornsey park, where a gate was marked in 1754. The building itself may be 17th century, although it has been extensively altered and refaced. It was there that the mob at the time of the Gordon Riots in 1780 was halted on its way to destroy Lord Mansfield’s house at Kenwood.
It causes a notorious traffic bottleneck. It was the site of a toll and opposite the pub lies the former toll keeper’s cottage. Both the pub and the cottage are now listed buildings and so traffic has crawl between the two. These boundaries are still relevant today – the pub is in Barnet and the tollhouse is in Camden, both are now listed buildings and traffic is reduced to one lane between the two.
Dick Turpin is thought to have been a regular at the Inn, as his father had been its landlord. Highwaymen frequented this area and likely used the Inn to watch the road.
The Inn remains a quaint, oak panelled and atmospheric pub with one of the best pub gardens in London - originally created as pleasure gardens and capable of seating 300. A visit to its tea-gardens was described by Dickens in the Pickwick Papers.
