page_title: Silver Cross Tavern
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Silver Cross Tavern / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Pub sign of the Silver Cross on Whitehall. It is a short walk away from Trafalgar Square. It is near the Foreign Office and the Home Office, as well as Horse Guards.
context_page_description: The Silver Cross Tavern is a pub on Whitehall in London, England. It was first opened as a licensed pub in 1674. The building had been an establishment at that location since the thirteenth century. It has been argued to be the only theoretically legal brothel in the country, on the grounds that a 17th-century royal licence on the building was never revoked.
context_section_description: The Silver Cross Tavern was first licensed and opened as a pub in 1674 as "The Garter" after having been a licensed brothel beforehand. It was initially owned by William Waad, son of politician Sir William Waad, who then sold it to Joseph Craig in its first licensed year. Craig had also bought a number of buildings near the Silver Cross Tavern; however, the Silver Cross was not incorporated with the other buildings which became known as Craig's Court.
  The pub was subsequently acquired by the Earls of Harrington. In 1861, it was leased from the Earl of Harrington by the Earl of St Vincent, being referred to as The Silver Cross.  In the twentieth century, the pub was owned by TJ Bernard, who sold it to Taylor Walker Pubs. Because of its location near British government buildings and Trafalgar Square, the pub is frequented by members of Her Majesty's Civil Service and tourists.
  In 1999, the BBC claimed that the Silver Cross Tavern was the only legal brothel in the United Kingdom, although not currently in operation as such, on the basis that a royal licence granted by Charles I was never revoked.
caption: The Tavern's sign
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