Nell of Old Drury, 29 Catherine Street, WC2
Opposite the Theatre Royal Drury Lane (which, confusingly, is on Catherine Street) stands the Nell of Old Drury, the pub in which Richard Blaney (Jon Finch) overhears city gents drooling over the wave of necktie killings – “Well, we haven’t had a good juicy series of sex murders since Christie. And they’re so good for the tourist trade” – in Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy. It's named after Nell Gwynne, mistress of Charles II. Drop in during the day to people-watch from the large window.
Trivia: the pub has connections with the theatre opposite – literally. An underground tunnel joins the two establishments. An interval bell once rung in the Nell for theatregoers who'd popped across the road for a quick one.
Frenzy (1972, dir: Alfred Hitchcock)
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