The Dove

This waterside charmer may well have helped the inspiration of former upstairs tenant James Thomson to pen Rule, Britannia! here in 1740. Now popular with rowing club members, it was also once used by royal ‘oar’ Nell Gwynne when practising her stroke rate on Charles II. Latter-day lovers Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor supped by its open fires, as did famous visitors from Ingrid Bergman and Ernest Hemingway to Boris Karloff via, er, Bob Monkhouse – all evidenced in the starry memorabilia that line the oak-beamed saloon’s walls. Choose from a terrace overlooking the river or settle in to the smallest snug in England (according to the Guinness Book Of Records). Discovery and London Pride from local brewer Fuller’s, along with trad pies such as steak and ale, are on offer.