Named by a sailor, Joe McMahon, who owned the pub after Llandogo in Wales which built trows (flat-bottomed river boats), the building was damaged in World War II, but remained in sufficiently good condition to be designated Grade II* listed building status in 1959.

The pub is also supposedly haunted, with up to 15 ghosts and one little green ghoul, the best known being a small man called Uncle Piebeau whose footsteps can be heard on the top floor.

The pub was partially destroyed by a bomb in World War II, but three of the original five projecting gables remain.

In the Victorian era the pub was associated with the Theatre Royal, which is across the road, and was visited by many performers and musicians including Henry Irving.

The most popular ghost story associated with the pub is that of a small child who wore leg braces and haunts the top floor, their footsteps heard at night.