Ye Olde Salutation Inn

Useful Information

Location:	73-75 Maid Marian Way, Nottingham NG1 6AJ. (52.95109414824035, -1.1518139538999645)
Open:	All year Mon-Thu 10-1, Fri, Sat 10-3, Sun 12-24. To see the caves, ask the landlord. [2021]
Fee:	free. [2021]
Classification:	Cellar sandstone
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Ye Olde Salutation Inn, 73-75 Maid Marian Way, Nottingham NG1 6AJ, Tel: +44-749-436-5760. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

13th century	ale house Arcangel Gabriel Salute the Virgin Mary.
1240	house rebuilt, Ye Olde Salutation Inn opened.
1642-46	During the first Civil War part of the house used as recruiting rooms for both factions.
1660	the inn was given its current name and a sign depicting a pair of shaking hands.
1937	an investigation by the Thoroton Excavation Society dates the caves to the 9th century.
1992	dated to around 1360 by dendrochronology carried out by the University of Nottingham.

Description

The Ye Olde Salutation Inn is one of the oldest inns in Nottingham, almost as old as the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem. It was an ale house during the 13th century named Arcangel Gabriel Salute the Virgin Mary. How long it has been an ale house is unknown. The building was built in 1240, but there was obviously a building before. And also much of the building is younger, as wood beams were dated to around 1360 by dendrochronology carried out by the University of Nottingham. Despite the claim to being the oldest in Nottingham and the claim to being the most haunted pub in England, the pub is actually known for its rock music and was described by local historian Dave Mooney as "an old fashioned rock and bike pub".

Below the pub are numerous cellars in two levels. There are benches cut into the rock, which were probably used for storage, not for sitting, and stone-slab shelves used to keep food cool. A well shaft was sunk 24 m into the rock, but even if it once provided fresh water, most of the time the water was polluted by all the cesspits around.

The oldest parts were probably part of a Saxon farm, at least that's the result of an investigation by the Thoroton Excavation Society in 1937. They dated the caves to the 9th century. The name of the 13th century alehouse The Archangel Gabriel Salutes the Virgin Mary refers to the Hail Mary greeting given by Gabriel to Mary, mother of Jesus. This name was commonly given to the guesthouses of religious institutions. That it may have been associated with either the Whitefriars Carmelite monastery or Greyfriars Franciscan friary, which were both nearby, is just speculation. There is no documentary evidence to support this. In the 14th century the pub was named Ye House by ye Sign of Salutation. When King Edward III resided at the nearby Nottingham Castle in 1336 many of his retinue were accommodated in the building.

During the late 17th century the inn had acquired a sinister reputation. It was a hangout for highwaymen. According to legend Dick Turpin was almost apprehended in the caves below.