Saturday 16 March 2013.

All welcome to join the crawl, whether a CAMRA member or not.

A Word version of the crawl notes is here: Word Crawl Notes, and a PDF version is here: PDF Crawl Notes

1. Vat & Fiddle

Arrive: 12.00 PM.

We meet the London Pubs Group webmaster, Benedict Jephcote in the Vat & Fiddle, 12-14 Queensbridge Road, NG2 1NB. We are making this the lunch stop but feel free to make alternative lunch arrangements if you wish. Please note that, as I have not been able to do a dummy run, timings are approximate. This pub, which is in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2013, was originally called the Grove and was designed in 1938 by W B Starr & Hall. Its style is described as “Moderne” in Elain Harwood’s Pevsner Architectural Guide to Nottingham. It is the brewery tap for the adjacent Castle Rock Brewery whose warehouse was designed by Sutton & Gregory in 1913.

2. Cross Keys

Arrive: 2.00 PM.

Cross Keys, 15 Byard Lane, NG1 2GJ. Like the Vat & Fiddle, this pub is in the 2013 Good Beer Guide. Elain Harwood describes it as “an early example of a plain, ‘improved’ pub designed for easy supervision.” It was designed in 1899 by Evans & Son.

3. Bell Inn

Arrive: 2.45 PM.

Bell Inn, 18 Angel Row, NG 1 6HL. This is one of several pubs that claim to be the oldest in Nottingham. According to Elain Harwood this pub’s roof dates from c.1437 and its frontage from c.1820. It is a grade II listed building and the listing description is as follows: “Public house and wine shop. Late C15, refronted c1820, with mid and late C20 alterations. Timber framing with stucco front and dressings and hipped concrete tile roof. 2 storeys; 3 window range. Windows are mainly plain sashes with projecting surrounds. Moulded pediment containing a bell in relief. Below the pediment, a panel with the name "Bell Inn" in relief letters. To right, 2 windows on each floor. To left, a similar window set higher. Below it, a replica early C19 wooden shopfront with cornice, containing a recessed glazing bar bow window and to its right, a 4-panel door with overlight. INTERIOR has substantial remains of timber framing, with stop-chamfered ceiling beams and crown post roofs. First floor room to left has an arch braced truss and stud wall. Vaulted rock-hewn cellars with rock pillars and brick lined well. Rear addition has a panelled room c1926 in Tudor style. This building as been in use as a public house since the mid C18. (The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Nottinghamshire: London: 1979-: 229).”

4. Hand & Heart

Arrive: 3.30 PM.

Hand & Heart, 65 Derby Road, NG1 5BA. According to Douglas Whitworth’s Nottingham Pubs this was named after a local friendly Society in the 1860s. It has wonderful feel to it inside as its back rooms are built into the rock face. Like the Vat & Fiddle and the Cross Keys, it is in the 2013 Good Beer Guide and it is Nottingham CAMRA branch’s 2012 Pub of the Year.

5. Salutation Inn

Arrive: 4.30 PM.

Salutation Inn, Hounds Gate, Maid Marian Way, NG1 7AA. Like the Bell Inn, this pub claims to be the oldest in Nottingham. It is a grade II listed building and the listing description is as follows: “Public house. C16 and mid C18, heavily restored and altered late C19 and mid C20. Timber framing, now roughcast, and red brick, with plain tile roofs and various stacks. Gables have C19 traceried bargeboards. EXTERIOR: C16 section, to north, 2 storeys plus cellars and attics; 4 x 4 windows, L-plan. Facing gable to St Nicholas Street has a jettied first floor with a 3-light cross casement with pointed arched lights and leaded glazing. Below, to left, a beaded 6-panel door and to right, a 4-light window with wooden mullions. Right return has a coped side wall stack and irregular fenestration with 2 first floor casements towards the right and above, 2 C19 gabled dormers. Below, 3 windows, the central one with plank shutters. Gable to right has a C20 brick underbuild and a single window on each floor. Rear, fronting Maid Marian Way, has 2 casements flanked to left by a large side wall stack and to right by a gable with a wooden oriel window. C20 brick underbuild with 2 windows and door. C18 section, fronting St Nicholas Street, has dentillated brick eaves, coped gables, and 2 brick gable stacks. 3 storeys; 3 window range, with a small central window flanked by a wooden cross casement to right and a reglazed window to left, all segment-headed. Above, 3 renewed casements, and below, a segment-headed board door flanked by large glazing bar sashes. To left, a lower addition, 2 storeys, single windows. INTERIOR has fragments of timber framing and is said to contain a medieval roof. There are rock cut cellars at 2 levels, with thrawls. (The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Nottinghamshire: London: 1979-: 235; Reprint from The Mercian Geologist, Vol. 13, Sept. 1992: Waltham AC: The sandstone caves of Nottingham: Nottingham: 1992-: 8-9).”

6. Castle

On the way to the next pub, note another pub, the Castle, 1 Castle Road, designed by a very famous Nottingham architect, Fothergill Watson, in 1883. It is part of Mortimer House and became a pub in 1980. Mortimer House is a grade II listed building and the listing description is as follows: “Includes: Nos.75 AND 77 HOUNDS GATE. Public house, cafe, shops and offices. 1883. By Watson Fothergill. Altered late C20. Red brick, with ashlar and blue brick dressings and gabled and hipped plain tile roofs. Various stylized stacks. Domestic Revival style. EXTERIOR: 2 and 3 storeys plus attics; 14 x 5 windows. Windows are mainly wooden framed cross casements with segmental heads. In the centre, 2 blocks, 2:2:3 windows, with a staggered roofline and prominent ridge, gable and front wall stacks. To left, a hipped dormer. Below, a double doorway with tiled canopy, flanked by 3-light windows. To right, a late C20 shopfront with French windows. At each end, a facing gable, the higher left gable with a timber-framed oriel window on the first floor. Right gable has 2 first floor windows, and single windows above and below. Beyond, to right, a rounded corner with 2 windows under a parapet, and above, set back, a short round turret with a hipped dormer window and a conical roof. Below, an original shopfront with cross mullioned window and cast-iron columns. Public house, at the left corner, has an angled corner entrance bay, flanked on each return by a cross mullioned shop window. Above, a timber-framed oriel window on wooden arch brackets. To right, a square tower, 4 stages, with 2 large side wall stacks, and a hipped roof topped with a weather vane. On the ground floor, a pointed arched doorway. Left return, to Houndsgate, has regular fenestration and a projecting side wall stack. (The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Nottinghamshire: London: 1979-: 236; Get to know Nottingham: Brand K: Watson Fothergill, Architect: Nottingham: 1987-: 8).”

7. Olde Trip to Jerusalem

Arrive 5.15 PM

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, 1 Brewhouse Yard, Castle Road, NG1 6AD. This is another pub that claims to be the oldest in Nottingham. Of this pub Elain Harwood says “The network of long, narrow cellars and a chimneyed brewhouse built into the rock, first mentioned in1618, are thought to be medieval. The painted date 1189 is spurious.” The pub itself is not a listed building but the Brewhosue Yard complex is grade II listed and the listing description is as follows: “Includes: Nos.5-8 BREWHOUSE YARD. 4 houses, now museum, and associated caves. c1675, restored and converted 1977. Red brick, with moulded brick dressings and gabled and hipped plain tile roof. 4 ridge and single gable stacks, rebuilt. Plinth, first and second floor bands, coped gables. Windows are glazing bar casements mostly 2 lights, with brick flat arches and keystones. 2 storeys plus attics; 2:8:2 windows. Symmetrical front, with 3-gabled centre, 8 windows, flanked by gabled wings. Ground floor has slightly irregular fenestration, with 2 renewed doors. Gables have 3 single windows. Right wing has 2 windows, and a 5-light window in the gable. Left wing has similar fenestration, with a door to left, and a 4-light window to the gable. INTERIOR has exposed span beams and joists in most rooms. 2 original dogleg stairs with intersecting strings and turned balusters. At the rear, associated caves cut into the face of the Castle Rock. Various irregular chambers with brick reinforcement and infilling, and a square shaft to the surface. The caves are probably contemporary with the houses. (The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Nottinghamshire: London: 1979-: 236; Reprint from The Mercian Geologist, Vol. 13, Sept. 1992: Waltham AC: The sandstone caves of Nottingham: Nottingham: 1992-: 9).”

8. Canalhouse

Arrive 6.00 PM

Canalhouse, 48-52 Canal Street, NG1 7EH. Like the Vat & Fiddle, the Cross Keys and the Hand & Heart, this pub is in the 2013 Good Beer Guide. Although it is not a listed building, the pub next door, the Fellows, Morton and Clayton is grade II listed and the listing description is as follows: “Coal carrying company offices, now public house. Dated 1895, converted 1980-1. For Fellows, Morton & Clayton, Ltd. Red brick with ashlar dressings and slate roofs and 2 ridge stacks. Plinth, ground floor cornice. Windows are original plain sashes. 2 storeys; single bay. T-plan. Street front gable has rusticated corner pilasters and coped gable with kneelers and finial. Ground floor has a 2-light window with shaped lintels. To right, an ashlar doorcase with pilasters and entablature, and original half-glazed panelled door with fanlight and sidelights. Above, a 3-light window with pointed arched heads, hood moulds and keystones. Above again, a datestone in a pointed arched recess. INTERIOR refitted late C20. Included for group value. (Palmer M: Industrial Landscapes of the East Midlands: Chichester: 1992-: 141).”