These 11 old Lancaster pubs date as far back as 1762 and some still survive today

Most of the information is contained in Andrew White’s book – Lancaster’s Historic Inns.

The oldest pub featured is The White Lion in St Leonardgate, built in 1762. For many years it was the tollbar for goods coming into Lancaster from the north east. It eventually closed in 2002.

Other pubs to first open their doors in the 18th Century were the Ship Inn, the Corporation Arms, the Nag’s Head and the Black Cat.

The Ship Inn occupied the site of two older inns in North Road. It opened in 1772 and was rebuilt in 1889, probably from two houses. It closed in 1970 but its name still exists above the shops.

The Corporation Arms in Penny Street was first recorded in 1781 and a stone carving of the arms of Lancaster above its door is now in the City Museum’s collection. Demolished in 1901, its name was briefly transferred to a new inn, the Corporation Hotel, which changed its name to the Alexandra.

The original Nag’s Head began life in Market Street in 1752 before moving to Church Street in 1768. The old inn was pulled down in 1898 and rebuilt. It continues to this day as The Study Room but there’s still a carving of a nag’s head above.

The Black Cat opened in 1789 near the theatre renamed The Athenaeum, now the Grand. The pub followed suit and was renamed the Athenaeum Hotel in 1899 but was demolished along with many other properties in 1961.

All other pubs featured today opened in the 1800s.

The Feathers Hotel in Market Street opened in 1820 but closed in 1895 and its licence was transferred to the Moorlands Hotel.

The Lord Nelson in China Lane is another Lancaster pub which no longer exists. Although first listed in 1822, it was probably named to commemorate Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Inns like this with lodging houses next door weren’t liked by the police who thought they attracted criminals. The Lord Nelson was rebuilt in 1895 as part of the widening and rebuilding of China Lane and survived until 1901.

1881 saw two of our featured pubs open – the Crown Inn in St Leonardgate was a beerhouse which survived until the 1990s and the Ring o’ Bells. Originally a private house, the peal of bells its name refers to might have belonged to the Priory or St Thomas’s Church.

The Park Hotel, which opened in 1890 on the corner of St Oswald Street, is the only one of our featured pubs built on the outskirts of the city centre, probably to serve the new Primrose area. Located near the army barracks – now the University of Cumbria – it could well have served a few soldiers too.

Although the prime reason to visit a pub was to drink alcohol, Victorian times saw the growth of the Temperance movement and Lancaster had several Temperance hotels which provided a drink free environment.

Scotts Temperance Hotel seen in the photograph as the Commercial Temperance Hotel in Market Street was also next to Lancaster Coffee Tavern, another Temperance initiative.

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