It won’t come as a surprise, but this pub, located a short distance east of Tower Hill, is named for the character from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist.

Located in Royal Mint Street, the pub was formerly known as the Crown and Seven Stars. It closed in 1981 and reopened under its current name in 1985.

While the history of the Crown and Stars apparently goes back some years earlier, the current four storey building, which is Grade II-listed, dates from a rebuild in the 1820s. But the facade, which features a crown and seven stars on the uppermost level, was partially rebuilt in the 1880s.

It’s not quite clear why the pub is so re-named – there doesn’t appear to be any particular connection of the character – known as the Artful Dodger but whose ‘real’ name in the novel is Jack Dawkins – with the location except that it’s in the East End where large sections of the book are set.

The pub is located at number 47. For more, see https://camra.org.uk/pubs/artful-dodger-london-155070.