Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem: England's Most Haunted Pub

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem claims to be England’s oldest inn, dating from 1189 when Crusaders allegedly stopped here on their way to the Holy Land. Built into the sandstone caves beneath Nottingham Castle, it is undeniably ancient and undeniably haunted. Staff and patrons have reported countless supernatural encounters in its dark, rock-carved rooms.

The History

Crusader Legend

The inn allegedly takes its name from Crusaders who stopped here before joining Richard I on the Third Crusade in 1189, the date painted proudly above the doorway. The word “trip” in this context derived from the Middle English meaning of a resting place or stopover on a longer journey, rather than its modern travel sense. While documentary evidence for the 1189 founding date is thin, the building itself is genuinely ancient, and Nottingham was a known mustering point for those answering the Crusader call. The pub’s claim, even if embellished, reflects a real medieval tradition of providing hospitality to soldiers bound for the Holy Land.

Cave Dwelling

The pub is partly carved into the sandstone cliffs, connecting to a network of caves that honeycomb Nottingham’s castle rock. The soft rock beneath the city has been excavated for over a thousand years, producing storage cellars, malting chambers, dwelling spaces, and more secretive uses. Some caves were used for brewing, taking advantage of the constant cool temperatures the rock provided. Others served as cold stores, hiding places, and reportedly for activities that benefited from being out of public sight. The relationship between the pub and the caves blurs—visitors are never quite sure whether they are inside a building or inside the rock itself.

The Haunted Gallery

One upstairs room houses a dusty galleon model in a glass case. Legend says anyone who cleans the ship dies within days. According to staff accounts, three separate cleaners across the past century have died shortly after attempting to dust the model, and the case has remained sealed and untouched for decades as a result. The model has accumulated a thick coating of grime that visitors find unsettling against the otherwise tidy interior of the pub. Whether the curse is genuine, coincidence, or carefully cultivated folklore, no one currently employed at the Trip will go near the case.

The Hauntings

The model galleon remains the pub’s most notorious feature, with photographs of it often showing anomalous shapes and reflections, and visitors reporting that the glass itself feels wrong to the touch. Several patrons have refused to remain in the room with it for more than a few minutes, citing a sense of pressure or unease they cannot articulate.

The caves themselves are intensely haunted. Witnesses have reported seeing robed figures resembling monks, possibly connected to the speculation that some chambers served an earlier priory or hermitage carved into the sandstone. Figures in medieval dress have been observed walking corridors that lead nowhere, and photographs taken in the lower rooms frequently capture orbs, mists, and unexplained light anomalies. Extreme cold spots are reported even on warm summer days, and a number of visitors have described a sudden, claustrophobic panic that drove them back upstairs.

A man in chain mail has been seen sitting in the rock-carved rooms, raising an invisible cup to his lips. Witnesses describe a Crusader’s cross stitched onto a faded surcoat and an expression of profound weariness, as though he had walked a great distance to reach this particular bench. Some accounts suggest he is a knight who never returned from Jerusalem, drawn back to the pub where he last rested before departing.

Child spirits have been reported playing in the caves, accompanied by laughter and the sound of running feet against stone. They appear briefly and vanish quickly, and their presence may be connected to the historical use of the caves as shelters during periods of plague or civil unrest. A female ghost in white appears in the upstairs rooms and occasionally drifts through the caves below. Her identity remains unknown, but those who have seen her describe a woman searching, looking past the living as if expecting someone who never arrives.

Poltergeist-style activity is also reported with regularity. Glasses slide across bars without contact, items fall from shelves when no one is near, and doors bang shut in still air. Footsteps cross empty floors above patrons drinking in the bar below, and staff have witnessed objects flung from a distance with no human source.

Modern Activity

The Trip embraces its reputation. Ghost tours run regularly, paranormal investigation teams have documented activity within the caves and upper rooms, and the staff maintain decades of accumulated stories. The galleon remains untouched in its sealed case, and a notice now warns visitors against attempting to clean it. Photographs continue to circulate of strange figures glimpsed in the cave rooms, and the pub has become a fixture on national haunted-Britain itineraries.

Visiting

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is a working pub open to all. Its cave rooms and claimed medieval heritage make it a Nottingham landmark, and its position beneath the castle rock places it at the heart of the city’s most layered history.

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Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem has served ale for centuries, to living and dead alike. The Crusaders who stopped here on their way to the Holy Land may never have returned—but their spirits found their way back to this ancient cave.

Sources

• Wikipedia search: “Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem: England”
• Historic England — Listed Buildings — Register of historic sites