The Silver Cross on Whitehall is a long‑standing pub with medieval origins, later notorious as a licensed brothel and now often cited in London ghost lore. It sits a short walk from Trafalgar Square and is frequently mentioned on “haunted London” and political‑history pub circuits.
 
A building on this site existed by the 13th century as part of St Katherine’s Hermitage, with lead‑lined walls typical of a religious house. Before becoming a tavern, the house functioned as a licensed brothel; a royal licence for a brothel‑keeper was granted in the 17th century, attributed to King Charles II (or Charles I in some retellings).The premises became a tavern in 1674 under the name Garter, later known as the Silver Cross, and have traded in one form or another as a drinking establishment ever since.
A recurring story attributes the haunting to the uneasy spirit of a murdered prostitute from its brothel days, whose apparition and footsteps are said to have been witnessed by staff, including a former landlord and landlady.
 
Interesting facts....
As the brothel licence was never formally revoked, you could say that the Silver Cross is the only technically legal, though entirely non‑operating, brothel in the UK.