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It was a favourite watering hole for the crusaders
on their way to the Holy Land.
Richard the-Lion-Heart is said to have stayed
here on one of his brief stops in England.
The word "Trip" or "Trypp"
is said to come from an old word for halt or stop.
Much of the fabric of the building is carved out
from the living rock on which the castle above stands.
The pub has two bars on one level, with a further
bar up a short flight of stairs known as the Rock Lounge.
The cursed galleon:
In the Rock Lounge is a model galleon hanging from
the ceiling, covered by what looks like 50 years of dust and cobwebs. No one will
clean the galleon because it is cursed. According to Marilyn, landlady in 1994:
"The last three people who have cleaned it
are said to have died mysterious and unexpected deaths within 12 months of doing
so."
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| The cursed galleon |
The model is the largest of several hanging from
the ceiling. They are said to be parting gifts from sailors who had made them
to pass the time at sea, like the scrimshaw of the whalers.
Nottingham was once a busy inland port; the River
Trent is navigable for quite large vessels all the way to the Humber and the North
Sea.
The maker of this particular model is unknown
but it is completely shrouded in dust thickened cobwebs.
No name is visible on the galleon's side, and
it would be a foolhardy soul that would wipe away the dust to find one.
Strange happenings:
The Rock Lounge in particular seems to be a focal point for odd happenings. Things
such as keys disappear only to turn up later in odd places. Glasses and bottles
have been known to fly off the shelves and smash, when no one is near by.
Staff have heard the sound of breaking glass coming
from the bar, but when they've gone with a dust pan and brush to clear it up,
they simply can't find any. Sometimes a waft of perfume fills the air, which Marilyn
describes as old fashion scent, like lavender or rose water.
Marilyn and Patrick were told the pub was haunted when they arrived. "We
were told that a group of tourists had asked to see the cellars and they saw two
foot soldiers walk through a wall. This was seen by the whole party, a group of
five people."
Ruff business:
A medium visited the pub and she told us that a clock hanging in the bar was possessed
by two evil spirits. A previous landlady had two Dobermans that hated that clock.
They would stand and bark at it for no reason.
Marilyn’s Doberman, Moritz, named after Baron
Von Richthofen's Deerhound, howled whenever it was put in the office. "He
still doesn't like being shut in there. This is an entrance Mortimer's hole and
they say animals are very sensitive to atmospheres.
"Previous landlords have both seen and heard
two ghosts, a man and woman. We hear people calling when there's no one there.
The woman, wearing what appears to be crinoline skirts is seen walking down the
stairs into the cellars."
Haunted caves:
Carved out from the soft rock, the cellars of
the Trip to Jerusalem are like interconnecting caves.
They have been in use at least since the Norman conquest and probably longer.
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| The haunted caves |
A narrow shaft pierces the rock above all the
way up to the castle.
It is believed this was a "shouting hole" to allow those in the castle
to call for more ale from the cellars bellow.
In one chamber in the cellars a horseshoe shaped
bench has been cut into the rock around the walls; this was a cockfighting pit.
According to Marilyn:
"Sometimes you can smell tallows burning down there. They used this for candles.
The smell can linger for twenty minutes and then it's suddenly gone."
Left to die:
On the far side of the cellars a rusting iron gate hangs limply from it's hinges
before a doorway cut into the rock wall. This is said to be the condemned cell
of the castle prison.
A curious green mould grows on the walls and ceiling.
A rock bench has been carved out on one wall, offering cold comfort to the unfortunate
inmates.
The condemned cell isn't used to store beer as
the ceiling is too low, for the most part it is kept empty. There is something
more to the cell's oppressive atmosphere than it's natural chill. There is a palpable
cloud of doom here.
Marilyn concurs with this, "As you walk in
the cell, you know it's not right, you know it is evil. Men condemned to death
were shackled to the walls in there. Some left to die of starvation or dehydration."
"Two of the pubs regulars, full of Dutch
courage, once decided they would spend the night in the condemned cell. They lasted
twenty minutes, and were violently sick afterwards."
Moveable objects:
"My husband had some eerie experience down there, not long after we'd moved
in. The mallets for tapping the barrels kept disappearing. These are big rubber
ones that are always kept in the same place. Sometimes you go down there and you
can't find one anywhere, only to look again to see three mallets lined up on three
consecutive barrels, where you've just looked."
"One day he needed to get something from
the other side of the cellar. He didn't bother to turn the light on and as he
crossed the room something icy touched him lightly on the back of his neck. Needless
to say the lights are always on now if any one is working in there."
"Some time later I was working at the sink,
near the condemned cell, washing some buckets out, when I saw something walk past
me. There was no one else there and it couldn't have been a shadow, it was like
a grey mass."
"I had this feeling like an icy bar being
passed through my body. I just stood there totally still. Then I looked at my
feet because I felt this iciness come down and go out through my toes and I shuddered
from head to foot. I don't know whether it was a condemned prisoner that hasn't
passed over properly, or a soul in torment but it was a totally evil feeling,
horrible. I wouldn't go down there again for about three weeks. It really frightened
me."
Read more about the ghostly tales
from the trip.
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