3-101-144 - "Royal Academy of Arts, London"/Heritage Images

The "Old Bell," Holborn, c1884. Coaching inn in London. 'The house is said to date from the early part of the 16th century, though, of course, the present building is comparatively modern. The arms, carved in stone, let into the front, are those of Sir Thomas Fowler, one of the Fowlers of Islington, a great family and Lords of the Manor of Barnsbury in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. The "Old Bell" still retains something of its renown as a coaching Inn. The passer-by may note, in the summer months, placards announcing the hours of departure and arrival not only of a daily omnibus, but of an occasional coach - not one of the amateur revivals of the last few years, but a genuine coach, a survival from the days before railways.' Description by Alfred Marks. Signs advertise Martell's and Hennesy's Brandies, and Kinahan's and Jameson's Whiskies. Note hansom cab in foreground.