St Albans is a city packed with history – and much of that history is enshrined in its ancient inns and taverns.

For years, the Fighting Cocks was listed as the oldest pub in the country. In fact, it’s not even the oldest in St Albans.

It’s predated by several inns known as pilgrim houses that were commissioned by the abbot to provide accommodation for pilgrims visiting the Abbey.

Many have long since disappeared but two existing examples are the White Hart on Holywell Hill and the Fleur de Lys in French Row.

The White Hart remains a magnificent building including a Tudor period wall painting depicting Venus and Adonis.

Sadly, in sharp contrast, the Fleur de Lys has seen its history traduced by being turned into a modern cocktail bar called the Snug in 2007.

Reports last week that the Snug is changing its landlords were due to a misunderstanding. A website that specialises in listing pubs that are changing hands had confused Hertford with Hertfordshire. The Snug group is closing its branch in Hertford but the St Albans pub remains unchanged.

It’s a Grade II-listed building and it seems remarkable that Historic England should allow the building to have its name changed and to allow a glaring neon light to announce COCKTAILS as visitors enter.

A plaque in the entrance – which predates the arrival of the Snug – gives wrong information about the history. It says King John II of France was held prisoner there following his defeat by Edward the Black Prince at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356.

But the inn was built between 1420 and 1440 and the king would not have been held there. He was a personal friend of the Abbot, Thomas de la Mare, who would have given him top table accommodation in the Abbey.

So as far as the Fleur is concerned, the history is wrong, the name is wrong and the choice of beer is poor. If you like a cocktail, over to you.

Much greater care and attention has been given to Waterend Barn at Civic Close at the top end of St Peter’s Street. It’s a branch of Wetherspoons and is unlike any of its other pubs.

It’s built of two barns that originated in Sandridge in the 16th and 17th centuries. The main barn was owned by Lord Brocket and it stood at Waterend House, the birthplace of Sarah Jennings.

She became a companion to Queen Anne and married Colonel John Churchill. They were ennobled as the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough when Churchill defeated Louis XIV at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704.

Lord Brocket leased the barn to the Thrale family of Sandridge who were yeoman farmers and millers who provided grain to local brewers and bakers.

They dismantled the barn in 1939 and moved it to St Albans where it took nine months to erect. They added a second barn in 1949 and ran the site as a restaurant.

It was bought by Wetherspoon in 2005 who spent £2 million refurbishing it. It’s so popular you could say customers are hanging from the rafters.

There are plenty of rafters for them, along with beams, standing timbers and mullioned and stained glass windows. The main room measures 91 feet by 33 feet and there are several side rooms that tell the story of the building. The Blenheim Room is dedicated to the Duchess of Marlborough.

The barn is open early for breakfasts and has a full menu for all-day meals. The cask ales may change but on my visit they included Brains SA Gold from Cardiff and other beers from Acorn in Barnsley, Wolf in Norfolk and Nethergate in Suffolk.

They all cost less than £3 a pint, which helps explain the Barn’s popularity. It’s worth a visit to see history restored.