A Castle in ruins: demolition order called time on city’s oldest pub
DEPRESSINGLY, much of the news in Derby lately has been devoted to the demolition of various buildings such as Debenhams and the former Derbyshire Royal Infirmary sites and the possibility of the Assembly Rooms joining them in the next 12 months.
Another occasion when there was a major bout of demolition was in the late 1960s and early 1970s when places such as St Andrew’s Church in London Road and St Alkmund’s Church were demolished – the latter to give way to St Alkmund’s Way and the creation of some of the inner ring road.
Sadly, another casualty in that era was one of Derby’s oldest inns, the Nottingham Castle, which stood in St Michael’s Lane at its junction with Queen Street.
There are references to the Nottingham Castle Inn as far back as 1550, but it may have been built even earlier. This timberframed building may have got its name from its location.
At one time St Michael’s Lane was connected to the old Nottingham Road via a bridge and was the main route to Nottingham.
For many years, the public house brewed its own ale, right up to 1959 in fact. For about 36 years around that time, it was owned by the Groome family.
The inn also became the headquarters of the Derby Sketching Club during the 1950-60s.
It eventually closed in the early 1960s and was demolished a couple of years later, taking with it a large chunk of some of Derby’s oldest history.
The site later became a car park and which was eventually developed into offices.