Nottingham is losing pubs at a depressing rate – 90 in less than 20 years. Andy Smart looks at some of the lesser known names that have disappeared

Sneinton Hollows, The Old Wrestlers Inn and Bendigo public houses

City drinkers still talk about the good times in long lost pubs like the Corner Pin, Flying Horse, Black Boy, Lion and Eight Bells.

The Eight Bells, in St Peter’s Gate, has gone down in history as one of the roughest pubs in the city centre, but there are other taverns that have fallen by the wayside which don’t have quite the same legend, yet had their own special place on the city social scene.

The City Hotel had a short-lived life, opening in Goldsmith Street in 1957 when it took over the licence of the Spread Eagle which stood on the site now occupied by Trent University.

Spread Eagle pub in Goldsmith Street which opened in 1957 as the City Hotel

Several Spread Eagle employees also transferred to the new pub but the landlord was an outsider, John Gilbert, who had a local claim to fame.

In his youth he had played cricket for Derbyshire just before the Second World War and he carried a scar on a finger, caused by trying to stop a thunderous shot from Notts batsmen George Gunn.

The Rose and Thistle Public House

He also played against Larwood and Voce, describing them as “friends”, and played football for Nottinghamshire FC.

No one seem sure how long the name lasted … but today it is known as The Spread Eagle.

Speaking of George Gunn, he was the landlord of the Bentinck Hotel next to the Midland Station for some years. Originally known as the Victoria it is now a brasserie.

Back in ’57, as the City Hotel opened, the last pint was pulled at the Old Wrestlers in Sneinton Hollows. An old-fashioned pub, it boasted a skittle alley and a piano for regular Saturday night sing-songs – another tradition that has all but vanished.

Landlord John Rawson was the last man in charge before moving down the road to a brand new Home Brewery pub called Bendigo.

When Sneinton became the focus for the city council’s redevelopment plans, several popular taverns had to go, including the Smiths Arms at the bottom of Sneinton Road. Who can explain why it was affectionately known as the Red Lamp? The Earl Howe was known by locals as Billy Murphys, and near the market was the Sir Robert Clifton.

St Ann’s had the Marquess of Hastings located near Alfred Street North, and the Gardeners Rest in Peas Hill Road.

Three pub names that have disappeared from the Radford scene are the Phoenix Inn, Denman Street; the Forest Lion, Independent Street; and the Lord Belper in Robin Hood Street.

And there was a similar loss on the city scene ten years later when the Albert Hotel on Derby Road, which had stood there from Victorian times, was demolished and replaced by the Strathdon Hotel.

Zetland Arms, Welbeck Street, St Ann's

It was renowned for its beautifully decorated coffee lounge where ladies could gather after a 2/6d lunch.

In 1956, Bulwell pub goers made a straight swap – one of the town’s oldest inns, the Black Horse in Coventry Road, was closed and the licence was transferred to the Apollo, Hucknall Lane.

The new licensees were Mr and Mrs Sidney Freestone.

And just to round off the story, who remembers these former favourites?

The Old English Gentleman in Basford which closed in 1964; Napier Inn, Union Road (1971); General Havelock, St Ann’s Well Road (1973); Boar’s Head, Sneinton (1962); Rose and Thistle, Wollaton Street (1977) and the oddly-named Zetland Arms in Welbeck Street, which closed in 1974.

Send your memories to andy.smart1647@gmail.com

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