Spaniards Inn

The Spaniards Inn is a historic public house dating from 1585, situated at the top of Spaniards Road on the edge of Hampstead Heath in north London. The inn has a long and colourful history, with associations including the highwayman Dick Turpin, who allegedly stabled his horse Black Bess in the adjacent toll house, and literary connections to Bram Stoker (whose Dracula characters seek refuge there) and Charles Dickens (who features it in The Pickwick Papers). The building retains much of its original character with low beams, open fireplaces, and a walled garden, and remains a popular destination for walkers on the Heath. The narrow road beside the inn was designed to prevent coaches from passing, creating a historic bottleneck that persists today.