Of all the inns and pubs in Highgate, The Gatehouse is probably the oldest, with claims that there has been a licensed building on the site since 1337. The auditorium that now houses the theatre was opened in 1895 as "a place suitable for balls, Cinderellas and Concerts" and its various uses have included a Victorian Music Hall, a cinema, a Masonic Lodge and a venue for amateur dramatics. In the sixties a jazz and folk club featured amongst others, the Crouch End All Stars and, on one famous occasion, Paul Simon (of Simon and Garfunkel fame). It has taken over a hundred years to turn the Highgate Hall (as it was called in 1895) into the village’s first theatrical auditorium, we hope the Victorian residents would have approved. At 446ft above sea level, the Gatehouse is officially London's top theatre.