The London Bridge Hotel occupied 49 Bridge Street and 57 Bridge Street Row. In 1853 it was called The Bridge Inn. It was listed as such in the History, Gazetteer & Directory of Cheshire, 1850 when the licencee was Thomas Haddock. (Another Bridge Inn continues to thrive in Vicar's Cross).

When the name changed is unknown but the landlord of The London Bridge Tavern from 1898 to at least 1914 was Thomas Horn, late 1930s to 1942 Thomas Shrives Evans. (Phillipson & Golder say E Morris was here in 1934-5 however).

Situated immediately to the right of Feathers Lane, there were 2 bars, one on street level & one on the row above. Its name derived, not from the famous bridge in the capital, but from its proximity to Messrs Beckett's 'London House' and also to the bridge which ran over old Feathers Lane (which is still there today) and which led to the extensive stables at the rear of The Feathers Hotel (see next entry). This bridge, which allowed continutity to Bridge Street Row as it crossed the lane, could be divided in the middle to allow high loads of hay, etc, to pass through.

The old inn was rebuilt, along with the rest of St. Michael's Row, in 1891 by the prolific Chester architect Thomas Lockwood and it is this ornate building we see in our photograph. It was on street and Row level with a steep stairway at the rear of the building, "very handy for a quick getaway" as local historian Len Morgan recently reminisced...

The London Bridge lost its licence around 1950, and became a branch of the Pearl Assurance Company. Today, the old pub is a coffee bar and clothes shop at one of the main entrances to the Grosvenor Precinct- or The Mall, as it is officially called now.