Category Archives: History

Doctor’s orders

I’m in transit to meet my second in command, well having a sit down while on my way to meet my second in command. In the Doctor’s Orders, a very nice micropub just outside Nottingham city centre. 

I’m having a lovely pint of Magpie IPA. Earlier, I stopped off at a Wetherspoon’s, by the canal. For coffee. 

I last called into that bar in 2005, when I was here for an Eels gig. We’d almost stole a table number (for the kitchen table), but conscience (and security cameras) deterred the theft. 

Last night, we visited Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem. 

Allegedly the oldest pub in England. The only pub built into a cave I’ve ever been in. 

The demise of the working men’s club

High Fell social club, just down the road to us, closed a while ago and has since been converted into flats. I’d never set foot inside the place, but I do recall a time when such places were a (bustling) social centre in most northern towns. Social clubs had their problems, of course; they were inherently sexist until recent years and most simply haven’t kept up with the times. 

A couple of years ago, I visited Kings Cliffe ex-servicemen’s club. I can’t say it was very busy, but a band was playing and the evening must have been reasonably  profitable. 

There was a second visit last night. 

It wasn’t a busy night. 

But at least they now have a decent selection of Sam Smith’s beer. At a very reasonable £2.20 a pint. 

Alas, probably not for much longer. Surely the place can’t survive much longer. 

John O’Gaunt

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned Ye Olde John O’Gaunt before, a few years ago. 

It’s a nice pub, in Lancaster. Apparently, Oliver Reed once had a pee there. 

George Bray

While replacing floorboards in the spare bedroom, I found a small box. 

The box, now in our bin since it seems to have been partially eaten many years ago by a mouse, had contained a (coal) gas burner. At ninepence, it wasn’t cheap in 1906. Its location suggests that the house had town gas lighting installed around that time. 

North Street Bar

North Street Bar, a bar on North Street, was a favourite of ours. While it didn’t open until late evening, it was a regular last stopping point. It stayed open until the early hours and could be relied on for cool, chilled live music. 

Sadly, the bar is no more. Worse still, it’s been replaced by one of those vile places that specialise in desserts. 

We’re now in the Draper’s Arms, raising a glass to a dearly missed friend. 

Ye Olde Blue Bell II

With time on my hands, Google has aided my research. While I can’t immediately determine the ultimate fate of the serviceman in 1944, there’s more information about Annie Ratcliffe. And even a poem. 

She met her sweetheart, and quite free from alarms,

With him she went in The Sir Walter Scott Arms.

And in a short time, as the facts do appear,

The girl’s throat he severed from ear to ear

That’s her (she was only 16) on the right. And him on the left. 

The Old Dog

Several years ago, I called into the Old Dog, in Preston. It was a bit of a dump, but I didn’t intend to stay for more than one drink. 

I may have written about this at the time, but the landlord (who was still in his 20s) engaged me in conversation. We mostly talked about music, finding that we only had Rufus Wainwright in common. Or was it Devendra Banhart? 

Anyway, on learning this, the friendly landlord went upstairs to his flat, returned with a Rufus Wainwright (or was it Devendra Banhart) album, turned the jukebox (which was playing at the time), removed a CD and inserted the Rufus Wainwright (or …). He then played the whole thing and gave me more beer, for which he wouldn’t accept payment. 

Fortunately, my sensible head prevented me staying until closing time. 

I suspect that the pub has since changed hands a few times. I do have a point though. The Blue Bell, as I learned earlier this evening, had replaced a demolished Old Dog. So, at some point in the late 1800s, a new Old Dog must have been built. 

Ye Olde Blue Bell

After a bite to eat this evening, I walked in the direction of the hotel. And then turned around And walked in the opposite direction. I had coke with the meal, so thought a walk to the Blue Bell was in order. 

I only had a pint of stout, since I need to be coherent at work in the morning, but it would have been wrong not to take the opportunity to visit a Sam Smith’s pub. And I’m quite fond of this particular pub. 

While there, I learned more of its history. It opened in the early 1700s, on the site of the Old Dog. There have been two related murders, the first a landlord’s daughter the the mid-1800s, the second more recently in 1944. 

The landlord’s daughter wasn’t actually murdered in the pub; the act was committed in a nearby pub, over a glass of lemonade. By her fiance en route to their wedding. He cut her throat with a razor. 

It didn’t end too well for the fiance either; he was hanged, with a 9ft drop, in Manchester. The latter murder did occur in the pub though. An American servicemen had made comments about British forces. And a British soldier wasn’t impressed and stabbed him. The latter was court martialled, but his fate wasn’t stated. I may need to carry out further research. 

It was an educational pint of stout. 

Beth made this

A few years ago, I used to post pictures on a photo blogging site, Moblog. I came across it after an Elbow gig at the Sage, when the band posted some pictures from the venue. 

One of the cool things about the site was that you could upload pictures via MMS or email. One’s email address or phone number were used to link to an account and a post was pretty much instant. I know that doesn’t sound advanced at all, but it was at the time, before social media caught up. Eventually, MMS was dropped and WordPress became more useable, so I gradually drifted away from Moblog.

Anyway, I found that some very talented people regularly posted some pretty cool pictures. One, for example, used to upload pictures of handmade projects, mostly in silver. Her name’s Beth Dawson and she still makes some pretty cool things. Her blog at the time was called bethmadethis, but you can now find her here, where she also sells handmade jewellery. It’s worth a look.