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One of our running themes at You & Yesterday is stories concerning the public houses of Derbyshire. Here Peter Seddon recalls the Nottingham Castle Inn, just one of the articles in our ever-expanding 'Lost Derby Pubs' series.

Sunlight glints on the half-timbered frontage of the Nottingham Castle Inn. But not for eternity - this ancient Derby hostelry closed in 1962 and was demolished in 1964

The St. Michael's Lane frontage of the Nottingham Castle Inn pictured in 1964 part-demolished - a reverse angle of the above

It is always sad to see a public house demolished - one knows instinctively that happy times have been spent there. But time moves on, and most former pubs bite the dust without too much public outcry.

That cannot be said of them all however. One 'lost pub' in Derby that should certainly have been allowed to survive - if only as a building of historic interest - is the ancient Nottingham Castle Inn which stood on the corner of Queen Street and St. Michael's Lane. Here for posterity is a brief history.

The earliest record of an inn on the site dates to 1550, when the main fabric of the building lay in St. Michael's Lane. The premises were by then already known as the Nottingham Castle Inn. Historians believe the establishment may actually have dated to the mid-thirteenth century, perhaps even earlier.

Although the name may seem rather incongrous, it reflects a simple logic. There was a long-held tradition that significant pubs on the road from one town to another took their name from the destination settlement - since St. Michael's Lane lay at the start of the ancient route from Derby to Nottingham, the name Nottingham Castle fitted the bill perfectly.

At any rate, the inn flourished, and in the late 17th century another range of buildings was erected facing Queen Street. It was in that 'new' extension that the public rooms latterly lay, while the older part became a store, brewhouse and offices.

In 1781 the landlord Henry Tomlinson put its lease up for sale, announcing to his customers that he was moving to the Tiger in the same street. The pub survived Tomlinson's desertion, and countless other 'mine hosts' subsequently ran the Nottingham Castle with great success.

It was for many years a free house which brewed on the premises. The last landlord to produce 'home brew' was Harry Groome, who took over from his father John Groome in 1941. During Harry's time the brewing was done by his brother Alfred Groome. Only when Harry died in 1959 did the brewing cease, when Harry's executors sold the premises.

Harry Groome's death heralded the end of the pub itself. It closed its doors to customers in 1962.

But all was not lost. A fine old building steeped in history still remained. It stood as a symbol for what much of Derby's town-centre property must once have looked like - a 'crooked house' with its half-timbered upper floors overhanging the street below. Ancient, timeless, interesting, quaint and picturesque in turn - surely it could be put to effective use.

But this was the 'swinging sixties'. And 'old' was 'square', not 'swinging'. In 1964 - two years after it had served its final customer - the Nottingham Castle Inn was demolished.

And for what reason? No one really seemed to know. The standard line from the powers-that-be was 'all in the name of progress.' And yet the site remained empty for almost 25 years, finally being developed in 1988!

What a great pity the Nottingham Castle Inn was not saved. It would surely have been a hostelry well worth visiting today.

Fortunately some photographs of it have been preserved, at least of the exterior. Better still would be for some interior shots to have somehow survived. If you have any, why not post them into this article?

Failing that, perhaps you have first-hand memories of the Nottingham Castle Inn. Since it served until 1962, countless of its former customers are still living, so if you can add any memories please do.

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