The sign outside the Shakespeare's Head pub in Carnaby Street claims the inn was established on the site in 1735 and was named after the owners, Thomas and John Shakespeare, who claimed to be distant relations of their famous namesake. Nothing of the original establishment remains – the building which stands today is late nineteenth-century (albeit in a Tudor style). There are apparrently many Shakespeare's Head pubs in London - others can be found in Holborn, the City, Kingsway, Finsbury and Forest Hill.
