The location for this week's merry jaunt, was the area in and around Parliament Street, the main thoroughfare through the City Centre. Parliament Street is a more modern name for an area that was known as 'The Back Side' at least as early as 1576 and its layout of a long central strip with narrower footpaths running off of it is common with many of the streets in the area. The change of name came about around 1770 when a local eccentric named Rouse, who harboured ambitions of becoming an MP, put up several signs saying 'Parliament Street' in order to emphasize his dreams. Somehow, the name stuck and has done ever since. Parliament Street is also unusual for its considerable width, due to the fact that a town wall built by Henry II ran down it from almost end to end. The rough location and dimensions of this wall are relatively well known as traces of the foundations and lower courses have occasionally been found, most notably in 1900. A wide ditch once existed on the outer side of this wall with a lane to facilitate the movement of defenders on the inside. The use of this wall had ceased by the Tudor period but the exact date of its demolition are unknown. Following the loss of the wall, the Chapel Bar area of Parliament Street became very narrow and a number of inns sprang up. These were eventually demolished to make way for street improvements which led to the widening of the area again and the general dimensions of the area remained more or less unchanged from that point on, with the street eventually becoming wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass each other in 1902. The most striking building on Parliament Street is the Theatre Royal which was built in 1875 on the site of what was once an old sand field, a few houses and a small inn. A maypole and a well were once located at the junction with Clumber Street.
Pub-wise, there are a few in the immediate vicinity and we decided that the easiest way to explore these was to start at one end of the street and work our way down to the other end, stopping at specific spots along the way. Matt and I began our journey at the Maid Marian Way end of the street and our first destination was The Gatehouse, on the spot where Parliament Street meets Tollhouse Hill.
Recently refurbished in a rather pleasant shade of green and named after a structure that most likely allowed passage through the old town wall back in the day, The Gatehouse is a bar/restaurant with an open plan interior and lots of tables. Outside there is a seating area consisting of wooden and tables and chairs, all enclosed within a rectangular barrier. There is an extensive and very nice sounding food menu on a large blackboard inside. The bar is angular and includes 3 hand pulls, offering London Pride and Harvest Pale with the third not in use. Matt opted for London Pride and I went for the Harvest Pale, which was very tasty but a tad warmer than it should've been. We decided to take advantage of the outdoor seating as it was a beautiful day and sitting inside seemed like a crime!
Our next port of call was located on Angel Row, still technically in the area despite not being in Parliament Street proper. The place I'm referring to is The Dragon.
For some reason, I spent months thinking this was a Chinese restaurant before I actually went inside for the first time last year. I think it was the name that confused me but I digress. The traditional looking exterior gives way to an interior decorated with low tables and long benches, arranged over a number of distinct levels divided by small staircases. The bar is small and located at the top of the 2nd level, next to the stairs that lead to the beer garden and toilets. The 3 hand pumps on offer include Harvest Pale and 2 offerings from Adnams, in this case Southwold Bitter and Broadside. I opted for the Southwold, which is coppery and smooth and in perfect condition. The outdoor seating/smoking area here is of particular interest as it includes sofa-shaped benches carved from stone and tables made of slate that are fastened to the brickwork. When we take a seat in the glorious sunshine, the background soundtrack is that of Bring Me The Horizon, an unusual choice and not necessarily that welcome.......
Following time to enjoy our pints and discuss the music on offer, we headed back to Parliament Street for our next stop, The Stage.
So called because of it's proximity to the Theatre Royal, just over the nearby tram tracks, The Stage is another of Nottingham's buildings to benefit from 2 separate entrances, with the main one on Parliament Street and a second one on Wollaton Street. It is also arranged over a number of different levels with parts of it in a vaulted brick area and the toilets located downstairs in the cave system. There is lots of seating with the bar being elevated above the entrance up a small set of stairs. The bar contains 4 hand pumps, 2 each of Harvest Pale and Timothy Taylor Landlord. As we discuss the length of Matt's hair with the bar staff and another customer, we order a pint each of Landlord which is served in glass tankards complete with handles and is in excellent condition! Retreating to a curved sofa in the downstairs brick area, discussion turns to what names we could give a group of British Avengers-type superheroes.
I was very excited about our next destination, although it was another that was slightly off of Parliament Street, instead located on the junction of South Sherwood Street and Forman Street. Langtry's is renowned for good food and drink and that was where we now headed, safe in the knowledge that this would be very promising as Langtry's has just been given an award for excellence from Nottingham CAMRA.
Langtry's takes its name from that of Victorian singer and actress Lily Langtry who performed at the nearby theatre. The interior is olde worlde with lots of original wooden beams, plaster backing and decorative prints of Victorian stage stars. The bar is central and U-shaped, containing 7 hand pumps for ale and a number of ciders. The ale choice is extensive with Flowers IPA and Original, Spitfire, Hobgoblin, Shot in the Dark, Little Bewdy and Ringwood 49er. There are also many ciders on offer, including Mega-Blond Dry and Farmhouse Perry. Being a big fan of Ringwood Brewery, which is close to my hometown of Portsmouth, I opted immediately for the 49er. At 4.9%, this beer is copper in colour, smooth and hoppy with soft, malt flavours. It's very very tasty indeed!
As tempting as it was to shoehorn a 2nd pint in here, we still had a couple of destinations in mind so, after finishing our pints, we ventured further down Forman Street to Nottingham's branch of Slug & Lettuce.
As far as I know, Slug and Lettuce is one of the brands that is now incorporated into Stonegate but don't let that stop you visiting as it isn't that bad. This glass fronted building contains lots of stylish leather seating and wooden tables with a curved bar to the right hand side, containing 3 hand pulls. Of these, 1 is out of use and the others offer Greene King IPA and Idle Chef from Idle Brewery. Avoiding IPA like the plague, we went instead for the Idle Chef (4.0%), which was ruby coloured and very malty with a delicious creamy head. Despite the heat, the lack of food eaten and the amount of alcohol consumed, we were still coping quite well by this stage, which was a pleasant relief. Although not strictly associated with any of the pubs on our visit, allow me to share a brief anecdote connected with Forman Street. In an unidentified, perhaps now demolished, building there were reports of ghostly activity, largely in the form of large rhythmic banging noises from an upstairs room. This activity has been put down to the presence of the spirit of a judge who died from heart failure whilst having sex with a prostitute in the area. The banging sounds have been widely attributed to his last passionate moments before the end.
I was in two minds about the last place we had set our minds on to visit, having heard mixed things and being slightly put off by people who'd visited it before. Despite this, the reviews I'd read had sounded promising and the pub in question appears to have recently obtained Cask Marque accreditation. Located opposite Victoria Centre, next to Wilkinson's is our final stop on this week's trip: The Dog and Partridge.
The pub in its current form lies on the site of the old Dog and Partridge brewery and is popular with locals and members of the gay scene. At the time of our visit, the pub is full with a considerable number of older customers, presumably waiting for the start of the weekly karaoke at 4pm. The pub is very traditional both inside and outside, with a circular bar at the centre and a separate bar area and two seating areas fanned out around it. Whilst the ale choice is not extensive, the quality cannot be questioned. The 2 hand pulls available are offering Bombardier and Hobgoblin. I went for the later and it was excellent, perfectly kept and very tasty. We used our time here to take a breather and reflect upon our day. All in all, no pub on this trip can be viewed as a disappointment. They all provide ale in various forms and the quality of this is top notch. Whilst some pubs may benefit from a wider choice of ales, as long as they continue to care about the quality of what they offer, they will continue to attract satisfied clientele, which is certainly important given their central location and high foot traffic. Parliament Street and its tributaries are more well known for the quality of their shopping establishments, but I think the area is certainly worthy of note for the quality and uniqueness of its drinking dens. Check them out for yourselves if you don't believe me!
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