Rules, London's oldest restaurant, is gifted to the National Trust

Rules, the Covent Garden restaurant founded in 1798, has been gifted to the National Trust, Restaurant Online reports. Valuable items such as visitor books, menus and photographs go with it. The restaurant will keep trading as normal, becoming a commercial tenant of the charity, with rent payments supporting conservation of the building.

Founded by Thomas Rule as an oyster house on Maiden Lane, Rules is widely treated as London's oldest restaurant still in continuous operation. Its guest list over the years has taken in Charles Dickens, Charlie Chaplin and Harrison Ford, and the building survived a demolition threat in 1971 after poet Sir John Betjeman spoke up for it at a public inquiry. A private dining room there still carries his name.

During the Second World War it stayed open on rationed meals at five shillings while still serving game. Restaurant Online describes it as unique and irreplaceable: British food, timeless surroundings and time-honoured service.

What it means for operators: a working restaurant can sit inside a conservation model without becoming a museum. For heritage sites under pressure, a tenant-and-trust structure is one way to keep the doors open and the fabric funded.