The lost pubs of Nottingham
Nottingham and its surroundings enjoy a particularly colourful pub heritage. True, many once popular inns and hostelries have gone for ever. But others survive to tell their story. JOHN BRUNTON takes a nostalgic look...
SADLY lamented was the passing of the Flying Horse, a celebrated drinking house since the Middle Ages in the Poultry, south of the Council House. It went in the 1980s to make way for a shopping centre; just its frontage was preserved.
It was a fate shared by many impressive and eye-catching Nottingham pubs, now only a memory.
Clumber Street was once full of pubs, including the Crystal Palace and the nearby Lion, now turned into an amusement arcade. At the top of the road was the Corner Pin, now occupied by a Miss Selfridge branch.
All had a long past and all were missed by their regulars.
The immediate pre-war period were times of great change as a lot of the old buildings – pubs and otherwise – were cleared away.
But there were some notable survivors.
Take, for example, Nottingham's three oldest pubs, the Bell just off the Old Market Square; the Salutation in Maid Marian Way and, of course, the Olde Trip to Jersualem at the foot of Castle Rock. All still survive and are as popular as ever.
The list doesn't end there, of course.
The Blue Bell in Parliament Street, a fine Victorian drinking house on two levels, with a separate lounge fronting on to Forman Street, has survived changing times. It actually pre-dates Queen Victoria's reign, as does the nearby one-room Turf Tavern and Langtry's next door.
Langtry's originally went under the unique name of the Peach Tree, but changed in the 1980s to that of celebrated actress Lily Langtry, marking the area's close association with the Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall over the road.
Another notable survivor was the Hand and Heart, in Derby Road. Like the Trip it has rooms cut out of the rock face.
And at the top of Canning Circus, the Sir John Borlase Warren celebrates the life of the Stapleford-born naval hero.
The Royal Children dates back at least to the late 18th Century, but probably even earlier than that.
The mystery is who the 'Royal Children' of its title actually were.
One suggestion is they were the future Queen Anne's, none of whom survived into adulthood.
The younger daughter of King James II, she fled to Nottingham when her father, by then deeply unpopular, was being ousted by his older daughter, the future Queen Mary and her husband, William of Orange.
A notable example of a historic pub is Yates's, on the site of an Elizabethan Inn called the Talbot in Long Row. It was pulled down in 1876 and the site became one of the Midlands' great gin palaces. It retained the name Talbot until 1929 when it became a Yates's Wine Lodge.
Post business editor Richard Tresidder, in his 1980 book Nottingham Pubs, published by the Civic Society, writes: "The Talbot has always been unrivalled and exceptional as a unique expression of Victorian opulence and enterprise."
The building's interior underwent a major refurbishment in 1995.
One pub which did not survive is the Eight Bells in St Peter's Gate, a well-known pub dating from the 18th Century and noted for the tiled surroundings of its ground-floor frontage.
It featured in the film version of Alan Sillitoe's novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, but it was destined to shut soon after, in 1960.
Six years later, Jalland's Vaults in Goose Gate, dating back to the early 19th Century, closed its doors for good.
It was a favourite meeting place for lace workers.
Not all Nottingham pubs had such a long history.
The Robin Hood Tavern, in Market Street, came and went in the 1980s.
It had hoped to cash in on the city's folk hero, and boasted a suite in which to hold medieval-style banquets upstairs, but never really caught on as a popular venue.
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by Francesco Sinibaldi, Italy
Sunday, April 18 2010, 2:25PM
“Nocturne and poetical singing.
When the
young bird
flies describing
the youth of
a magical care,
and when my
memory outshines
recalling the
light of a tender
emotion, I give
you that song.......
Francesco Sinibaldi”
by Lorraine Brittle, st annes, wells rd
Wednesday, December 30 2009, 3:22PM
“i am looking for any information on a pub that was on wells rd, st annes, i think it was called the Avalon ? if you can help it would be good to hear any stories etc, even more so about the landlord/ landlady flo and bob . they were there in the late 1960`s”
by Barnze, Nottingham.
Thursday, November 05 2009, 1:23PM
“no need to remember the Loggerheads....Nip in for a pint ,it's open everyday.”
by Jim Williams, Kirkby in Ashfield
Tuesday, October 27 2009, 10:58AM
“I hope my memory serves me well, as I remember (early 1970's) that the you could not get a pint in the 'best side' of the Corner Pin. You had to go into the tap room with the rest of that 'clientele'. My mates and I thought it very funny. What about 'The Loggerheads' on Cliff Road, anyone remember that?”
by Paul, Australia
Monday, October 19 2009, 5:53AM
“Great to see all the pub names & places as i visted in Nottingham !! & can't remember getting home to Bulwell, but cannot belive the pubs that have closed down !! The Newstead Abbey at the bottom of our street (Bestwood Terrace) Three Crowns & the Horse & Jockey ( Knocked down ) in Bulwell Market !! Was just a pity to see all the great legends gone & wonder when we go come back home how many more have gone !! What a pity but they say it's moving on !! What a load Bo--l--ks !!”
by Eddie, byronbay australia
Tuesday, September 15 2009, 11:16AM
“my favourite pub was the forester arms in union road, near the victoria station, 1956they kept my pint glass under the counter i felt big time for a sixteen year old. Eddi Phillips. cheers”
by redallover, carlton
Saturday, September 05 2009, 6:02PM
“totally agree with M and as for John Bruton this really is a very sloppy and shoddy article
how can u miss out such pubs as the Fountain,Dog and Bear ,Miltons Head, Horse and Jockey,the Whistle Stop to name a few.All with a history and surely deserved a mention in the said article. shame on you”
by Peter, ilkeston
Sunday, May 03 2009, 1:07PM
“I'm sad that "M. Notts" is thinking of a career in journalism. That he or she feels it necessary to use "half-arsed" demonstrates a limited vocabulary; that he or she gets the name of the newspaper wrong demonstrates a failure to grasp the basics of good journalism; and that he or she complains about a lack of quotes illustrates a modern-day obsession with people saying things, rather than the reporting of facts. John Brunton's article added to my knowledge of the Nottingham pub scene and, as a long-serving journalist, I suggest that M's comments might be taken more seriously when he or she has proved him/herself by earning a living from journalism, rather than playing at it in the comfort of Studentland.”
by Phez, ilkeston
Sunday, May 03 2009, 1:06PM
“I'm sad that "M. Notts" is thinking of a career in journalism. That he or she feels it necessary to use "half-arsed" demonstrates a limited vocabulary; that he or she gets the name of the newspaper wrong demonstrates a failure to grasp the basics of good journalism; and that he or she complains about a lack of quotes illustrates a modern-day obsession with people saying things, rather than the reporting of facts. John Brunton's article added to my knowledge of the Nottingham pub scene and, as a long-serving journalist, I suggest that M's comments might be taken more seriously when he or she has proved him/herself by earning a living from journalism, rather than playing at it in the comfort of Studentland.”
by Mel, Wollaton
Monday, April 13 2009, 12:08PM
“I was the last landlord of the Crystal Palace and I rememberthe last night there with mixed emotions.
It was a night of sorrow in as much it was the end of an era but also I remember that final night which was a total party mood. The pub was full of it's regular people which were mainly of the older generation and what sticks in my mind was the usually quiet rserve patrons came with the intentions of having a final party night which is what we had.
Iremember by the end of the night how wehad to arrnge taxis for some of the older people who to put it mildly were worse for wear but no trouble
I also remember putting people into the taxis wathched by the police who just stood back and smiled at what they saw.
Again a good night was had by all and no trouble what so ever.
How times have changed”