The claim
A timber-framed survivor marooned beside the ring road, the Sal is Nottingham's rock-and-real-ale pub and a third contender in the city's oldest-pub argument. Beneath the bar lie two levels of sandstone caves with a deep well shaft, shown to visitors when staff allow. Its 1240 date is legend, but the medieval timbers overhead are real.
What the records show
The 1240 is on the building itself: CAMRA's national inventory description records a date of 1240 on the exterior of the jettied St Nicholas Street range, and reads the fabric as a combination of at least three buildings, most likely 16th- and mid-18th-century, heavily restored later. So the date is the house's own assertion rather than anyone's dating of it. Tree-ring work reported on Wikipedia puts the oldest timbers around 1360, and the rock-cut cellars are older still, but claimed 14th- and 15th-century inn references (1336, 1414) could not be verified against primary sources.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1240 | Claimed founding | The pub |
| c.1360 | Present building | Dendrochronology |
What to look for inside
- Two-level sandstone cellars and a deep well
- Reputedly one of England's most haunted pubs
- Live music and ten handpumps
Visiting
Ye Olde Salutation Inn is in Nottingham, England, at Hounds Gate, Maid Marian Way, Nottingham NG1 7AA. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Olde_Salutation_Inn
- camra.org.uk/pubs/salutation-inn-nottingham-162680
- www.heritagegateway.org.uk/gateway/results_single.aspx?uid=1255137&resourceID=5
- ratings.food.gov.uk/business/1952588
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
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