Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem is a historic Grade II listed pub located in the Castle Quarter of Nottingham. It's acclaimed to being the oldest pub/inn in England, establishing itself in 1189 AD. The Trip is partially built into Castle Rock in the shadow of Nottingham Castle, and is greatly associated with the legendary outlaw Robin Hood and Richard the Lionheart given his reign as King of England began in the same year. Originally the caves were used as a brewhouse or malthouse for Nottingham Castle, halling barrels of ale, beer and wine up to a hundred feet or more up above the building with a pulley system, with some theories suggesting this as early as 1068 when the Castle was first built.

 

The pub features many rooms and areas with unique and interesting names. Half of them have been carved into the sandstone walls of Castle Rock, which dates back more than a thousand years.

 

The oldest known parts of the current building were constructed some time between 1650-1660, but a map created by English Cartographer and Historian John Speed shows that an older building was on this site in 1610. The building was used as a coaching inn in 1751 when it was called 'The Pilgrim', but was later renamed to 'Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem' in 1799. Many people believe the pub was named these because pilgrims made trips to Jerusalem from this point onwards. However, the definition of 'Trip' or 'Trypp' has changed over time and centuries ago the word meant a stop or rest on a journey, rather than taking a journey from, so the likes of Crusaders, Pilgrims and other travellers would take a rest here on their way to the Holy Land.

 

One of the key rooms of The Trip is Mortimer's Hole, which is also referred to as the Museum Room. During the early 14th Century, Edward II's wife Queen Isabella (known as The She-Wolf of France) was unhappy in her marriage because Edward had a fondness for men. She went to France and met a man called Sir Roger Mortimer, whom both had hatched a plan to remove Edward II from the English throne and have him killed. They then ruled 'de facto' for Isabella's son, the 14-year old Edward III, until he was of age to rule as King. Edward sent an army after Mortimer at Nottingham Castle through the caves there. Both Mortimer and Isabella were caught together; she was imprisoned and he was executed on the block. The cave leading up from The Trip to Nottingham Castle is now sealed, but the bottom of the cave is now a room which is sometimes called Mortimer's Hole.

 

One of the famous families to own Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem was the Ward family, who ran the pub from 1894 to 1989. But before the Ward family had more presence at the pub, George Henry Ward who was commonly referred to as 'Yorkey' was landlord of The Trip from 1849 until his death in 1914. In the Haunted Snug hangs a black and white photograph of a lady, believed to be Ada G. Etherington-Ward who ran the pub with her family in the late 19th Century.

 

The pub also features one of England's oldest inn games called 'Ringing The Bull', which legend states it originated from the Crusades in Jerusalem. The way to play and win the game is to hold and aim a piece of hanging rope with a ring on the end of it, and swing the ring forward to hook it on a bull's horn on the other side of the room. If you hook the ring to the bull's horn, you win.

Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem is renowned for being the most haunted pub in Nottingham.

 

The apparition of a tall shadowman known as 'The Figure in Black' has often been seen rushing around the pub spooking drinkers and staff. It's unknown who this figure is; some say he's a former drinker who regularly visited the pub, and some say he's a black knight (a knight who committed misdeeds and is stripped of any heraldry, hence seen by people in all black).

 

Perhaps The Trip's most famous ghost is the ghost of George H. Ward aka Yorkey. Yorkey's ghost has often been seen sitting in the lounge named after him, as well as playing practical jokes on staff and tourists in the cellars like making loud noises and pulling at people's clothes, which is very in-line to his character when he was alive.

 

In the Rock Lounge upstairs lies The Cursed Galleon, an old, dirty antique ship. The true origins of this Galleon is not documented, but the story goes that it was brought into the pub about 300 years ago and was hung on the ceiling downstairs near the bar. Some time after when the cobwebs, dust and dirt was getting too much, the landlord at the time went to clean it, but within a year he became ill and died. Two other landlords over the years had also attempted to clean the Galleon, but again fell ill and died soon after. Eventually 30 years ago, a cleaner decided to take the Galleon down and preserve it in a display box which now hangs above the bar in the Rock Lounge. A few weeks later, she also became very ill and sadly passed away. Another version of the story claims a dark witch visited the pub one day and put a curse on the Galleon forbidding anyone from touching it. The Cursed Galleon is certainly a mystery, but will the spirits of The Trip help us to solve it?

 

The Trip also houses another mysterious antique which currently lies downstairs in Yorkey's Lounge. This antique is known as the 'Pregnancy Chair'. It is claimed that any woman who sits in the chair will significantly increase her chances of becoming pregnant. However with so many women having sat in this chair over the decades, it is sadly unstable for anyone to now sit in it (sorry ladies).

 

Another spirit sensed in this pub is the female energy of Ada G. Etherington-Ward. Her spirit is commonly felt in the Snug where her portrait hangs, as it's believed it was her bedroom and where she passed away in her sleep. People often hear taps and knocks in this room, as well as the ticking and chiming of the grandfather clock despite the fact it doesn't work, and the sounds of growling have also been heard in this room, which could be attributed to one of the pub's former pet dogs.

 

And in the pub's notorious cellars is a dark and sinister glimpse into Nottingham's medieval past. In one area of the Cellars was where a cockfighting pit once was, while in another area sits the remains of a condemned cell which was once part of Nottingham Castle's Gaol. This area still features an old rustic cell door, and just outside of it carved out of the sandstone is the original gaoler's seat. Down here is where many people feel cold spots and ghostly hands touching them, terrifying male voices, light anomalies and eerie footsteps on the sandstone floor.

 

Other paranormal activity reported here includes a little girl who plays on the stairs leading up from the downstairs bar to the Rock Lounge, disembodied footsteps and voices, harrowing screams heard as well as poltergeist activity like glasses and coasters being moved, the 'Ringing The Bull' rope swinging on its own, and the strange auditory phenomena of glasses being smashed, despite no glasses being broken.

DATE: Saturday 22nd February 2025

 

TIMES: Midnight - 5:00am (Saturday Night until Sunday Morning. Arrive 15 minutes early. Please wait patiently outside until a member of our team greets you at the door)

 

LOCATION: Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, 1 Brewhouse Yard, Castle Road, Nottingham NG1 6AD

 

PARKING AT EVENT: Parking on Castle Road, NCP Nottingham Maid Marian Way Car Park and other local street parking. Please note parking charges may apply.

 

REMAINING BALANCE: Needs to be paid FOUR WEEKS prior to the event date. Failure to pay your remaining balance before this deadline will result in you forfeiting your places and your places will be sold on.

 

WHAT TO BRING: A torch, a warm coat/jacket, sensible footwear, any equipment you wish to bring along (your responsibility), your positive and open-minded energies.

 

PLEASE NOTE: Bringing alcohol or illegal drugs to this event is strictly prohibited. If anyone arrives at the event under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, they will not be allowed to stay for the night and will be asked to leave immediately.