The Flask in Highgate is one of north London’s oldest and most storied pubs, with origins on the site going back to at least 1663 and the present buildings largely dating from the early 18th century, with later rebuilding and additions. It’s especially known for its mix of coaching-inn history, literary associations, and ghost stories.
 
The pub is first recorded as “The Flask” in 1716, and the name is usually linked to the flasks of mineral water once sold there when Highgate and Hampstead’s springs were fashionable. The building itself developed in phases: the oldest surviving part is the former stable block from 1663, the main body is from the 1720s, and the bar room was added around 1800.
 
The pub has long been tied to writers and artists. William Hogarth is said to have drunk there, and there are repeated claims that Byron, Shelley, and Keats were regulars, with Karl Marx also sometimes mentioned among its customers.
 
Interesting facts...
The best-known legend is that Dick Turpin hid in the cellar or stables while on the run, though that story is tradition rather than firm proof. Another famous tale says one of the first secret autopsies was carried out in the Committee Room using a body taken from Highgate Cemetery during the era of grave robbing.