Rules restaurant in Covent Garden has been donated to the National Trust to protect it from the threat of developers – news that was reported this week as far away as the New York Times.
Founded by Thomas Rule as an oyster bar in 1798, Rules is widely recognised as the oldest restaurant in Britain – a claim bolstered by the closure four years ago of Simpson’s Tavern, a chophouse founded near the Bank of England in 1757 which reopened this month under a new name, Cloth Cornhill.
J-P Mayhew, the owner since 1984, said he was donating Rules to the National Trust to safeguard “its bricks and mortar, its famous interior and its invisible atmosphere too. I am grateful to them for believing in this idea and for protecting this building and two centuries worth of stories for people to enjoy forever.
“With many years of hard work, and some extraordinary strokes of luck, Rules has survived everything from redevelopment plans and changing tastes to the Blitz.”
The £11million property will now come under the wing of a powerful heritage organisation with more than 500 properties, more than 5 million members, and an annual income in excess of £700 million. The NT already owns a number of historic pubs and country house hotels that continue to operate as hospitality businesses, Cliveden in Buckinghamshire the most famous.
The day-to-day business at Rules continues to be run by Ricky McMenemy, the long-serving general manager who bought the restaurant business in 2022 and now becomes a tenant of the NT. Diners will not be scrutinised by NT members while they eat: viewing is expected to be made available online.