Summary
A public house, principally dating to the late-C17 and C18, extended in the C19. The building incorporates rock-cut chimney vents and cellars that are thought to have originated as part of a medieval brewhouse.
Reasons for Designation
Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, a public house dating to the late-C17 and C18, extended in the C19, incorporating rock-cut caves and cellars, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* for the survival of the vernacular timber framed architecture that forms its late-C17 core;
* for the locally distinctive network of caves cut into the Castle Rock;
* for the survival of its internal fixtures of interest, including fireplaces and panelling.
Historic interest:
* as an historic public house with a continuous documented history since 1760, significantly predating the rise in the number of pubs that followed the 1830 Beer Act.
History
The Olde Trip to Jerusalem is a multi-phase structure incorporating possibly medieval caves carved into the Castle Rock alongside a late-C17 timber framed building, and later brick additions. Despite its legendary claim to be the oldest inn in England, its history as a public house appears to date to 1760 when it was first recorded as 'The Pilgrim'.
The building stands in Brewhouse Yard at the base of the Castle Rock. Its earliest fabric is found in the large conical caves carved into the soft sandstone of the rock itself. Below the ground level of the pub are further caves which are likely to be later in date and may have been purposely constructed as beer cellars in the Early Modern period. Some of these cellar caves historically served The Gate Hangs Well, a neighbouring public house that was demolished in the early C20.
The timber framed building that forms the core of the site is likely to have been built in around 1680, roughly the same time as the major reconstruction of the castle. It was first recorded as a public house in 1760 when its landlord, William Marriott, was licensed for the first time. The building was then known as 'The Pilgrim'.
By 1799 the building had changed its name to the Trip to Jerusalem. The name is said to be a reference to the custom of medieval pilgrims and crusaders gathering at the inn before leaving for the Holy Land. Painted onto the side of the inn is a foundation date of 1189. This date is unsubstantiated in any records but complements the name of the inn and places the mythical history of the pub in the time of the Third Crusade and the tales of Robin Hood.
The C17 core of the building is two bays wide, with a brick-filled timber frame. It stands between the rock face and the tallest corner of the site. It has been expanded in three phases since that period, with the last phase added in the mid-C19.
The gabled three-storey corner tower is mid-C18 in origin. Its function has changed over time: the ground floor once served as part of the landlord's accommodation, and as a bottle-and-jug counter.
The single-bay, single-storey north-eastern wing incorporates a cave, once used as the building's tap room. It dates to the late C18 or early C19, though the bar and entrance are C20 innovations. It is today called the Ward Room, after the family of successive landlords from 1894 to 1989.
The south-western wing is mid-C19 in date and encloses the western courtyard. Historically, this formed an L-shaped block with a run of open-sided stables or stores on the west side of the courtyard. Historic photographs and illustrations show that the upper storey of the south-western wing was originally a hayloft, and the ground floor had gates for carriages and pedestrians.
Between 1996 and 1998 the inn underwent a period of adaptation, winning an award from English Heritage and the Campaign for Real Ale in the process. The changes included the creation of a snug at the ground floor base of one of the conical caves, and the excavation of a bridging tunnel between the Rock Lounge (historically, the Lounge Bar) and the Museum Room (historically, the Mortimer Room) at first floor. At the same time, the former domestic accommodation for the landlord was incorporated into the public areas of the building at ground floor, and into the back-of-house services above.
Details
A public house, principally dating to the late-C17 and C18, extended in the C19. The building incorporates rock-cut conical caves and cellars.
MATERIALS: the site combines structural brick and timber with carved-sandstone cellars and caves. The roofs are covered in clay tiles.
PLAN: the building has a central range between the street and the Castle Rock, with additions to the left and right forming a z-shaped plan. The ground floor public areas are served by a radial bar counter, with the exception of the snug.
EXTERIOR: the building stands at the base of the Castle Rock. Perpendicular to the face of the Castle Rock is the two-bay, two-storey box-framed C17 structure that is the earliest part of the inn. It has casement windows at ground and first floor, panels of brick in-fill, and a steep, tiled roof with one dormer and a tall brick chimney. A taller bay to the left, dating to the first half of the C18, is three storeys high and forms a corner tower. It has sash windows on its east elevation, and a dentil cornice. The painted sign on this corner of the building reads “ye olde trip to Jerusalem / 1189 AD / the oldest inn in England”. Although the information claimed in the sign is unsubstantiated, it has appeared here since at least the C19.
The south elevation of the corner tower is gabled with kneelers. It has an attic casement window, and a ground floor 'Yorkshire' sliding sash window. Extending to the left for three bays is the south-western wing. At ground floor is a C19 pedestrian gateway, and four small windows. A single window at first floor replaces the former access to the hayloft. This wing terminates in a gable on its west elevation in plain red brick, with a single window at ground floor.
The west courtyard incorporates the face of the castle rock, which has been partly bricked-up to house the cellar entrance and the first floor rock lounge (identifiable by the casement windows). On the east side is the box-framed walling of the building's C17 phase of construction, with brick in-fill and casement windows. The south side of the yard has been altered to create a covered passage in front of the south-west wing. At first floor there are two late-C20 casement windows, and a C19 wall-mounted lamp. At ground floor there is an alleyway at the left handside, and late-C20 doorways.
At the north-eastern corner of the site is a single-cell, one-and-a-half storey brick lean-to building with a long plain-tiled roof. This is now (2023) the principal entrance. Where the roof meets the cliff-face there is a small window in a slim brick wall. At ground level, to the left of the entrance, is a large timber multi-pane casement window providing an external servery for the bar.
INTERIOR: the interiors of the Olde Trip vary between a warren of rock-cut cellars, separate bars and snugs at the ground floor, the back-of-house kitchens and stores in the upper storeys, and the extraordinary upper rooms within the Castle Rock that reuse the earlier conical caves.
The ground floor bars include the Ward Room, Chimney Alcove, Money Bar and Yorkey's Lounge. The 'haunted' snug connects to this area but isn't served by the radial early C20 bar counters located in the north-eastern corner of the plan.
The bar has a quarry tiled floor and C20 fittings, including oak-panelled bar fronts.
The Ward Room, formerly a tap room, is partly formed from the Castle Rock. It has a flag stone floor and there is an early C20 brick-arched fireplace. Fixed to the wall is a bull's horn used for 'ringing the bull' (a traditional pub game).
The money bar (named after its decoration with different currencies) and the chimney alcove have stone flooring. The alcove is cut into the rock at the base of a conical cave and contains a later brick chimney.
Yorkey's Lounge, named after landlord George 'Yorkey' Ward (d 1914), has an exposed spine beam propped by a C19 cast iron post. The floor is covered in quarry tiles and there is a variety of dado panelling. At the north end of the lounge is a C19 hob grate with a simple wooden surround.
The 'haunted' snug is at the south-eastern corner of the ground floor. It was formerly part of the landlord's accommodation and at one time a bottle-and-jug counter for take-away sales. It has an Edwardian fireplace with tiles and decorative wooden surround. A round stained-glass window borrows light from the passageway on the west side of the room.
Carved into the upper parts of the Castle Rock at the rear of the building is the Rock Lounge (former Lounge Bar) and Museum Room (formerly 'Mortimer's Room'). The Rock Lounge inhabits the base of a massive sandstone cave. Its fittings date to around the 1930s, when its matchboard dado panelling, curving oak corner bar and arched brick fireplace were installed. The bar back is late-C20 or early C21 in date.
The eastern wall of the Rock Lounge was cut through in around 1996 to create a bridge across the adjacent cave to connect to the Museum Room (a walled cave with a tiled floor).
The upper storeys of the C17 range have become back-of-house spaces: kitchens, stores, air-handling equipment. Historic features include some C17 timber framing, and the use of lath and plaster.
The cellars of the Olde Trip extend in multiple directions and levels, with six principal chambers all of which have been cut directly into the rock. Some chambers have low ledges used for beer stillage. One chamber is gated. The floors are mostly paved with brick, though some are bare stone and others have a concrete surface.
