Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2001/02/16/top_british_isp_run/

Top British ISP run from pub

We salute you

By Kieren McCarthy

Posted in Bootnotes, 16th February 2001 16:23 GMT

Updated agen Searching Whois can often turn up some unexpected gems. And once such eye-opener was sent to us by Totally Fish - although we suspect that's a pseudonym.

Do a search on one of the UK's biggest ISPs, LineOne, he suggested. Of course, LineOne is owned by Springboard Internet Services. And just for good measure, it has given some phoney address in London - Ludgate House indeed!

But dig a little deeper and the truth emerges. Where are the servers (the key to the whole saga)? Where else but the Bricklayers Arms, S1. Yes, we can exclusively reveal that a top ISP is being run from a pub somewhere in S1. Unfortunately, while London has a W1, E1 and N1 postcode, no S1 exists - officially.

And so we consulted our encyclopaedia of UK pubs - namely, the office - and we all agreed that the only one in London we know is just off Rathbone Place, north of Oxford Street (the ones in Farnham (just by GA Day) and Leeds (round the corner from The Chemic) were ruled out). We shall be popping round there anytime soon to do some serious Friday afternoon investigative journalism. ®

Update

We are writing this in the Bricklayers Arms. But have just been informed we're in the wrong one. No wonder we couldn't find any server farms under the table (that's John's excuse anyway). Apparently, we should be in SE1 - which is actually nearer the phoney Ludgate House address. There lies the true Bricklayers Arms. But before that, we feel obliged to check out the Bricklayers Arms in Shoreditch.

More to follow...

Okay. We must thank Shoot. He has done some kinda search and hang on - yeah, mine's a Theakston - and come up with another seven Bricklayers Arms in London. It's not yet half five so we feel confident that we can nail down this mysterious ISP once and for all. Cheers.

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Our proof