When we visited, the bar was buzzing and nicely busy, with a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere and some superb modern folksy music playing. Beneath the building is a network of ancient caves, and heritage tours exploring the fascinating history and architecture of The Malt Cross are also available. Today it is a vibrant café, bar and music venue, with many original features and, of course, that amazing glass roof that pours light onto the mezzanines and floors below. In 1997, with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Malt Cross was redeveloped as a modern music and arts venue and established as a charitable trust. The music hall hosted a number of notable Victorian performers but eventually lost its licence in 1911 due to questionable behaviour by some of its clientele. In 1877 it was converted into an elegant music hall, with an amazing arched, glazed roof and a two-tier performance area. One of Britain’s last remaining Victorian music halls and managed as a charitable, not-for-profit venue, the site of The Malt Cross has been a public house since 1760, located on what was then one of Nottingham’s more notorious thoroughfares. Of the three contenders for the oldest pub crown this remains the one which just about feels authentic feels like a pub should and seduces your imagination to envisage its patrons through a millennia of history.Few people in Nottingham haven’t heard of The Malt Cross, situated just off Market Square in the city centre. The latter of these two options is sadly adjacent to the gents which are in an outhouse (making the aforementioned urine smell in the main building more mysterious still) but is still wonderful in its own way. Opt for either a bench outside so you can look back up at the not unimpressive castle or at the architectural abomination of the adult education college otherwise perch in the pubs inner courtyard. Whilst I’d fully encourage you to sit inside regardless of the weather, if you don’t fancy a cave there’s always the haunted snug, there’s a decent amount of outside seating.
#LOST CAVES BAR NOTTINGHAM FULL#
Cramped, dark and full of antiques of questionable authenticity these are fantastically atmospheric places to enjoy a beer even if you do occasionally get the odd bit of ceiling fall into your glass. The most recent building is propped against the sandstone rock the castle above stands upon but the rooms further back in the pub nudge into the caves themselves. Moving swiftly back to the reasons you ought to love this pub the caves are worth a mention. Not a great sell point but then admittedly it’s probably pretty tough to air out a cave.
Some of these whiffs were present in the absence of the food which would produce them and unless they’re being emitted by a wisely discontinued line of Glade Plug ins picked up from one of the city’s many pound stores I assumed these are permanent fixtures. Treat your nose to fish, urine, damp and curry in a few short steps as you take in the sensory experience of a lifetime. The other not entirely pleasant oddity of Ye Olde Trip is the impressive feat of having a different smell in each room. At a push flog branded tankards and bottles of Ye Olde Trip Ale (tasty) but the second you even consider slapping your logo on a novelty pencil sharpener you’re lost. Things like this are the first point in a journey which has a final destination of children’s colouring in place mats, sauce bottles on tables and laminated menus resplendent with food pictures. Those tourists are also catered for with a line of souvenir t-shirts & pin badges which are sadly a step towards the naff. Admittedly there is a cramped service area and often a bunch of baffled tourists not sure which pint of tepid brown liquid they ought to choose but those facts are true of many a joint in London and overcome with a bit of savvy or a few extra bodies. The major irritation has got to be the glacial speed of service at the bar which never seems to improve. Unfortunately there are a number of chinks in the armour of the pub at the moment some of which are on the cusp of becoming difficult to overlook. It paints a romantic image and if you go in for such stuff it’s entirely enchanting. Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is the one I personally want to win this never to be settled dispute for no other reason than the fact that if you ignore the scraps of modernity around the place it’s not hard to imagine a frightened young squire, hunched in a corner, enjoying his last real taste of hearth and home before heading to the holy land to seek his glory. There are three pubs in Nottingham which claim to be the oldest not just in the city but in England and depending on which bit of ancient documentation or local hearsay you believe they all make a decent case.
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