 The Lamb and Flag in Rose Street has a reputation as the oldest pub in the area , though records are not clear . The first mention of a pub on the site is 1772 ( when it was called the Cooper 's Arms – the name changing to Lamb & Flag in 1833 ) ; the 1958 brick exterior conceals what may be an early 18th @-@ century frame of a house replacing the original one built in 1638 . The pub acquired a reputation for staging bare @-@ knuckle prize fights during the early 19th century when it earned the nickname " Bucket of Blood " . The alleyway beside the pub was the scene of an attack on John Dryden in 1679 by thugs hired by John Wilmot , 2nd Earl of Rochester , with whom he had a long @-@ standing conflict . 
