Blackfriars Friary

13th-century Dominican friary with the oldest dining room in Britain

Tucked behind Stowell Street, Blackfriars survives almost intact from the 13th-century Dominican foundation that gave it its name. The cloisters now house a craft centre and small shops; the refectory operates as a restaurant serving regional ingredients in a stone-vaulted chamber that has barely changed in eight hundred years.

Worth a visit even if you do not eat: the small herb garden and the medieval well-house are both accessible. Free entry to the cloisters during business hours. The restaurant takes bookings.

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A story
Blackfriars dates from 1239 and is one of only a handful of medieval friary buildings still in use in Britain. The dining room — a stone-vaulted chamber that has served meals continuously since the friars' time — has a credible claim to be the oldest working restaurant in the country.