Named after the local landowner William Berners, whose country seat was Newman Hall in Quendon, Essex, it's a small, narrow and cosy low-ceilinged pub, with a proper flagstone floor. Note the almost Dickensian covered alleyway to the left, once unlit and nicknamed Murderer's Alley. It is a surviving fragment of a fringe of the St. Giles' Rookery, once the most famous slum area in London. A beer-only licence lasted here until 1948 when wine was licensed to be sold, and finally a spirits licence was granted in 1960.

After a period of closure for building works to be carried out, this site reopened in May 2018 under Truman's Brewery management, as their first Tap House in London. Truman’s expanded the pub into the basement and increased the number of draught lines, to offer customers a wider range of beers. This was one of the first pubs in London to install a ‘crowler machine’ to fill 910ml (a pint and a half) cans with any draught beer on site for customers to take away. Up to 4 cask ales plus 12 keg beers are on offer. The venue does not offer in-house substantial food but Serious Pig packet snacks are available.

Following a management buyout in 2022 Truman's was rebranded Big Penny but this iconic pub has kept its original name.