Bell Inn, Nottingham

Built on the site of a former friary back in 1437, the Bell Inn lays claim to be the oldest pub in Nottingham, although there appears to be no clear evidence to suggest that it was actually built as a pub. It’s a Greene King house nowadays and mixes a bit of the old with some fairly modern features. You enter into a long stone corridor with two bars in rooms on either side and the main bar at the end in a large open space. This room has bare floorboards and nicely paneled walls with the servery situated on the right hand side opposite a number of high tables and stools. Dark beams and a stained glass skylight give the room a bit of character and the wall space is broken up with a number of old black and white photos and a large timeline detailing the pub’s former landlords. At the back of the room there is a raised carpeted seating area with a number of standard tables and chairs, which looked like a decent place to sit if you were planning on eating. Of the two front bars, I found the right hand one to be the more pleasant as it seemed to be the more intact of the two. It’s a fairly dark space with woodblock flooring, some nice banquettes at the front and a pleasant servery. The front windows have attractive bell motifs and the only downside was the presence of a slot machine and TV screen (turned off on my visit). The left hand front bar is very narrow, with a fairly plain servery halfway down the room. Seating is restricted to a couple of small tables at the front and a drinking ledge to the rear and the bell motif is in evidence again in the door and windows. A restaurant, The Belfry, is located upstairs and is supposedly one of the more unspoilt parts of the pub’s interior, although I didn’t get a look myself. The pub’s cellars are carved into the sandstone beneath the building and have been dated back to the 12th century. Anyone wanting to explore them can do so on one of the weekly cellar tours held each Tuesday. For a Greene King pub, the ale selection is fairly progressive. My visit saw a fine number of hand pumps in action across the three bars, with the full range available in the rear room. The choice facing me was Greene King IPA, Abbot Ale, XX Mild and Old Trippe, Morland Old Speckled Hen, Nottingham EPA and Robin Hood Ale, O’Hanlon’s Flagship IPA, Rudgate Jorvik Blonde and the house beer, Bell Inn Bitter. I gave the Robin Hood Ale a try and was a little disappointed in both the beer and the quality. This is an interesting pub with a good central location that makes it well worth stopping off for. There is a fair bit to explore, so I think the place would stand up to repeat visits and the guest ale policy certainly makes that a more enjoyable prospect.