The historic home of Rules, recognized as London’s oldest restaurant, has been officially donated to the National Trust in an £11m landmark freehold gift. The transfer covers 34-35 Maiden Lane in Covent Garden. It ensures that the building and its priceless archives are protected for future generations while the restaurant continues its normal commercial operations.
Thomas Rule founded the restaurant in 1798. It originally began as an oyster house and has remained at its current location for over two centuries. Rules has survived the Blitz, outlasted empires, and fought off various urban development plans. The property transfer marks only the fourth ownership change connected to the physical building in nearly 230 years.
J-P Mayhew purchased the property in 1984 and spent decades maintaining its character. He decided to gift the freehold to the conservation charity. Mayhew previously sold the restaurant operating business in 2022 to Ricky McMenemy, a 35-year veteran of Rules. McMenemy now transitions into a commercial tenant under the National Trust.
A Storied Past and Cultural Legacy
Over the span of more than two centuries, Rules has served nine British monarchs and 45 prime ministers. It has hosted an extraordinary roster of cultural icons, writers, and actors. Notable visitors throughout history have included Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurence Olivier, Ava Gardner, and David Bowie.
The four-storey Covent Garden building retains its well-preserved 19th-century interior. It features red plush seats, vintage caricatures, playbills, gilded antlers, and historic stained glass. Poet John Betjeman delivered an impassioned defense of the restaurant in 1971 when it faced threats of demolition due to local road expansion plans. Writer Graham Greene celebrated his birthdays at Rules and immortalized the venue in his novel The End of the Affair.
Along with the physical building, the £11m gift includes a large collection of historical archives. These items include visitor books, vintage menus, photographs, and signs that map out the social history of London’s West End.
National Trust’s First Operating Restaurant Building
The National Trust cares for 39 historic pubs across the United Kingdom, including the George Inn in Southwark and the Crown Bar in Belfast. However, 34-35 Maiden Lane marks the first building in the charity’s care to house an operational historic restaurant.
Hilary McGrady, Director-General of the National Trust, praised the acquisition:
This place is an outstanding piece of living history, with its corners where kings dined and writers and politicians plotted, and the traditions it kept alive through wars and upheaval. It has defied the odds to be standing here today, doors still open and treacle sponge still on the menu.
Restaurant proprietor Ricky McMenemy welcomed the agreement, emphasizing the stability it offers the independent business moving forward:
As an independent business, it gives us both the security and peace of mind that our home will be in very good hands and be protected and secure going forward. Having already established a very amicable working relationship with the Trust, we look forward to another two centuries in this, our home.
What the Transfer Means for Diners
Diners visiting Rules can expect business to continue as usual. National Trust representatives have clarified that the charity will maintain a light-touch, behind-the-scenes role focused exclusively on conserving the building structure and archive collections. The establishment will not adopt a National Trust menu, nor will there be scones served or preferential pricing for charity members, as the venue remains a commercially viable independent business.
Annual rental income generated through the commercial tenancy will go directly toward funding the conservation and ongoing maintenance of the Maiden Lane property, safeguarding a rare and vibrant piece of London’s culinary heritage for years to come.
