New Castle, Nottingham

Originally the Smith's Arms, this pub is an inter war rebuild of an earlier pub of the same name (Whitworth 2010). The name changed and was the Lamp for many years before recently becoming the New Castle. The name Lamp derived from the old nickname for the pub, the Red-Light House because of the red lamp above the front door at night. The current name reflects the proprietor's past association with the nearby pub, the Nottingham Castle, now known as the Nottingham Legend.

A Shipstone's house for a long while, it was then acquired by Barnsley's Oakwell Brewery, which sadly closed in 2013.

A beerhouse during the Victorian and early 20th century periods, in 1864 the publican was R.J. Messenger (Wright's Directory). It seems likely that the pub brewed its own beer on site, as it has a well in the double-storey cellars (Cave Ref. MNU1063), which have been lovingly re-opened by landlady Judith Birkett and her team. Presumably the cave callars pre-date the inter-war rebuild. Note the impressive wooden-beam barrel-hoist in the rear bar to give access to the cellars beneath.

The New Castle is in Nottingham City Council's Sneinton Market Conservation Area and has an entry on the Nottingham Local Heritage List HA416 (and formerly Nottingham Civic Society's Draft Local Heritage List (09 December 2013)0, which notes that the building was built in 1923 and was designed by architects WB Starr & Hall.

[Nottingham City Council, Dales Ward / Nottingham East Parliamentary Constituency]