The Covent Garden site that houses Rules, London’s oldest restaurant, has been gifted to the National Trust, ensuring the establishment’s long-term future.
The historic venue opened at 34-35 Maiden Lane in 1798 and has been gifted by long-time owner JP Mayhew.
The restaurant also features an upstairs cocktail bar, opened by Brian Silva in 2008, named The Winter Garden, which serves historically rooted classics.
Valued at £11m, the freehold of the building, along with associated memorabilia, will be owned by the charity with Rules trading as a commercial tenant. Its rent payments will go towards conserving the building, according to the BBC.
Hilary McGrady, director general at the National Trust, said: “It's a huge honour for the National Trust to be gifted the home of Rules, an iconic national treasure and restaurant in the heart of Covent Garden, London.
“Rules is place of living history where Kings, writers and politicians have dined. A place where you can see, smell and taste not only treacle sponge, but centuries of history, care and memories. A place where cultural traditions have been kept alive, and continue to thrive, despite the world around it changing.
“Now, under the care and preservation of the National Trust this building, and its historical and cultural importance as the home of London’s oldest restaurant, will be protected.
“I’d like to thank JP Mayhew for his enormous generosity in gifting this to the Trust. JP has poured his life into Rules and now leaves an ever-lasting legacy by ensuring this building is protected on behalf of the nation.”