Pubs - 2

The Romans are credited with introducing pubs (Public Houses) into England's damp climate around AD 53.  In fact there is a pub in St. Albans called the Fighting Cocks which claims to be England's oldest pub.  St. Alban's used to be called Verulameum in Roman times and it's likely that the Fighting Cocks was actually called the Bunch of Grapes.  The inside of this pub gives no indication that it is Roman however, as it is a sea of video games, Formica, and overall gaudiness.  But there is evidence to believe that the site was some form of hostelry.

Further to the north however, in the city of Nottingham is a pub called The Trip to Jerusalem and this is the genuine article.  It is named after the site where crusaders would gather before they made the long journey to the holy land to fight the Muslims.  The time for this is a lot closer than Roman times and occurred in the 13th century.  Later in it's history, in the 16th century, a hiding place was erected in the chimney going up from the bar.  This was where priests could be hidden when they were being hunted by the opposing faith.  It's called a priest's hole.  It's been about fifty years since I was in "The Trip," so my memory of it is a little faint, but I suspect my visit was spurred by an overall curiosity as to what it was like.  After all, these are houses that are open to the public, and you can just wander in.  No doubt this is the same curiosity as that which draws people to "Open Houses" run by realtors.  Lots of people go in with no interest at all in buying.