---
title: Rules, London's Oldest Restaurant, Is Protected for Good After Its Owner Gave the Building to the National Trust
description: Open since 1798 on Maiden Lane, Rules is London's oldest restaurant. Its building now belongs to the National Trust, and the dining rooms stay open.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-10-22T13:59:12.726Z
updated: 2026-10-22T14:06:42.660Z
canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/rules-london-oldest-restaurant-national-trust
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-16229521.webp
categories: Food & Culture
content_type: News
region: United Kingdom
publication: Rich Travel Magazine
access: members
about:
  - type: Organization
    name: National Trust
    description: The National Trust is a conservation charity founded in 1895 that cares for historic houses, gardens, coastline and countryside in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
    url: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk
    sameAs:
      - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Trust
---

If you have ever ordered treacle sponge at Rules, you have eaten in a building that now belongs to the National Trust. J-P Mayhew, who has owned 34-35 Maiden Lane in Covent Garden for four decades, has donated it to Europe's biggest conservation charity in a gift valued at £11 million.

The restaurant itself is going nowhere. Ricky McMenemy, the proprietor who has worked at Rules for 35 years, becomes a commercial tenant of the Trust, and the rent from the restaurant business will pay for conservation work every year.

## An oyster bar that outlasted an empire and the Blitz

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