The Only Running Footman
The Footman | |
---|---|
Etymology | Footman |
General information | |
Location | London |
Address | 5 Charles Street, Mayfair, London W1J 5DF |
Coordinates | 51°30′31″N 0°08′46″W / 51.5085°N 0.14615°W |
Website | |
http://www.thefootmanmayfair.com/ |
The Only Running Footman (also referred to as The Footman
Formerly the "Running Horse",[3] the establishment was first built in 1749 and rebuilt in the 1930s.[4]
The pub is variously said to be named after a retired footman who bought the establishment and named it after himself,[5] or via its then owner William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry, who employed a footman "said to be able to keep up a respectable 8 mph".[3] Footmen were originally employed to run ahead of a carriage to ensure the way was clear. As roads got better and clearer the demand for their services fell away and many were re-employed as household servants.
The pub is believed to have been the inspiration for the Junior Ganymede Club, a fictional club in P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves stories.[4] It is a significant location in Martha Grimes's 1986 mystery novel I Am the Only Running Footman, which takes its title from the pub.
References
- ^ The official website uses the title The Footman but also states the pub is still formally known as The Only Running Footman.
- ISBN 9780600622512
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4721-0933-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-0752470245.
- ^ "The story behind one London pub – The Only Running Footman". Metro. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2018.