Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, founded in 1189 and carved partly into the rock beneath Nottingham Castle, is one of England’s oldest pubs.
English pubs have long been the country’s informal living rooms: places where people gather across class, age, and background to share stories, celebrate milestones, and build community.
Historically, pubs served as coaching inns, meeting houses, and centres of local life. They hosted inquests, elections, wakes, and weddings. They brewed their own ale, supported local economies, and offered warmth and welcome to travellers. Their names – ‘The Red Lion’, ‘The Crown’, ‘The Ship’ reflect centuries of heraldry, monarchy, maritime history, local lore, and more.
Culturally, pubs are spaces of conviviality and continuity, embodying a social ease rooted in humour, understatement, and the pleasure of shared company.
Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem symbolises this heritage. Its ancient rooms, carved into sandstone, connect modern visitors to medieval pilgrims and soldiers. As an object in the story of England, the pub represents belonging, a place that helps define Englishness and English identity.