I

f you’re planning a weekend in London why not swap the same old hotel for something with a bit more history? Actually, make that a lot more.

This smart Georgian terrace - 43 Cloth Fair to be precise - encloses the only remaining house to be built before London’s Great Fire of 1666, and overlooks St Bartholomew the Great churchyard – which also survived.

But if that’s not enough to put a historic twinkle in your eye, how about the fact that the flat you’ll be staying in once belonged to Sir John Betjeman – one of the nation’s favourite poet laureates?

Under the Landmark Trust, this one-bedroom, two-storey house in the heart of historical east London has been lovingly restored, and is awash with original features, furniture and décor.

You’re a stone’s throw from famous sites like St Paul’s Cathedral, the Old Bailey and the Museum of London, and – if you’re feeling peckish – the renowned Smithfield Market. Perfect for breakfast.

Okay, so you’ll have to be up before 7am to get the pick of the 50-or-so different suppliers for your breakfast bacon and sausages. But if it makes you feel any better, the market traders will have been at it since three this morning.