| The Lamb and Flag | |
| Type: | Public house |
| Location: | Rose Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2 |
| Designation1: | Grade II |
| Designation1 Offname: | THE LAMB AND FLAG PUBLIC HOUSE |
| Designation1 Date: | 15-Jan-1973 |
| Designation1 Number: | 1265122 |
| Founded: | 1772 |
The Lamb and Flag is a Grade II listed public house at Rose Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2.
The building is erroneously said to date back to Tudor times, and to have been a licensed premises since 1623, but in fact dates from the early 18th century,[1] or according to its official listing, perhaps from 1688. The building became a pub in 1772.[1]
Situated in what was a violent area of Covent Garden, the pub's upstairs room once hosted bare-knuckle prize fights,[2] leading to it being nicknamed "The Bucket of Blood".[3] A plaque on the building commemorates an attack on John Dryden in a nearby alley in 1679, when Charles II sent men to assault Dryden in objection to a satirical verse against Louise de Kérouaille, Charles II's mistress.[4] Writer Charles Dickens frequented the pub in the 19th century.
Many of the internal fittings are Victorian woodwork or earlier, including a remaining partition, meriting the pub a maximum three-star rating as a Real Heritage Pub.[5]
The pub was refaced with brick in 1958.[6] It has been operated by Fuller, Smith & Turner since 2011.[7]