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| The Eagle and its ancestor incarnations have been here at the heart of Cambridge, UK since the 14th or 16th century. To pin down the exact date ask the resident ghost. |
WARM WELL LIT PLACE—The Eagle in
Cambridge, England calls a section of its venerable establishment: The RAF
Bar. Located in the rear of this Corpus
Christi College owned pub (managed by Greene King brewery), a bit of history is
served with meals, pints and time honored lore.
It is in this bar where pilots in World War II placed their names or
their graffiti on the ceiling after returning back to England from bombing
runs. They used cigarette lighters to
etch their names.
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| Cherished ceiling Graffiti from World War II |
But
the largest pub in this university city goes back a bit more than WWII. Faithfully serving its trade since it opened
in 1667 (nee “Eagle and Child,”) the pub is one of the more popular places in
the centre city. Others sipping on cask
ale insist the bartender told them the inn’s roots go back to the 14th
century. No records show when The Eagle
started calling itself a gastropub.
Maybe
so, but a newer slice of urban legend has it that in 1953 two future Nobelists
Frances Crick and James Watson burst into The Eagle from a nearby lab to alert
the world and the pub’s midday crowd that they unlocked the secrets of the
double helix: DNA. A blue plaque near
the front door to the Eagle’s Pub commemorates that announcement.
Regulars
to the pub include at least one ghost.
Some flesh and blooders complain that the place is a tourist trap, but
that’s before they meet the ghost. Fortunately for the complainers there are
other pubs in Cambridge, who might serve them.
Pillar
to Post’s faithful correspondent favored the Eagle’s DNA on tap. And, judging from expense reports stayed for
dinner and purchased a few rounds for the locals. Carpe Diem.
The Eagle
8
Benet Street (north side)
Cambridge
CB2 3QN, UK
O1223
505020
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