Description: Showing The Salutation Public House From the junction with Spaniel Row, St Nicholas Street and Hounds Gate. A Plaque near the Maid Marian Way entrances states: 'The present house was built c. 1240 on the site of the 13th century Ale House known as 'The Archangel Gabriel Salutes the Virgin Mary.' Its name and sign refers to the salutation 'Ave Maria, plene gratia,' given by the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin; and as this sign was not infrequently associated with inns belonging to religious houses, an idea exists that this inn may have been the guest-house of either the Carmelite or the Franciscan friary of Nottingham. '1240 AD' is displayed on the apex wall but apparently the first building on the site then belonged to a 'tanner' (someone who made animal skins into leather). Their workshops were on the ground floor, with living accommodation above for both the 'tanner' and his workers. (In 1992, Nottingham University's Department of Archaeology's tree dating labs put a date of the oldest timber (the inner ring) in the pub as being circa 1360' apparently in those days timber was not left to season so that date is probably an accurate estimate as to when the pub we know today was actually built, and not 1240 as is stated on the apex wall (which was probably the date of the first building on the site). In 1440, borough records recorded this date as having a private dwelling on the site, belonging to a man named John Alastre. During The Civil War, in the 1640's, it was used by Oliver Cromwell's Roundheads as a recruiting room. In 1937 following an investigation by the Thoroton Excavation Society, it was thought that the 9th century caves beneath the pub were lived in by the local Saxon folk (the ghost of a young four year old girl is rumoured to haunt the caves). In directories, The Salutation's name varies and is sometimes referred to as 'Ye Olde Salutation'. In the late 1970's-1980's 'The Sal', as it was popularly known, was regularly frequented by bikers and the heavy-rock fans. There have been two major refits since the early 70's; The latter being the introduction of a second public staircase allowing access to the upstairs bar. Within the last two year's Tony Robinson and the Channel Four Time Team programme visited and tried to date all three of Nottingham's oldest pubs (the Bell, the Trip to Jerusalem, and the Salutation). The artist was Thomas Cooper Moore (1827 - 1901), who was a nineteenth century painter, watercolourist and pen and ink artist who first trained as an architect before dedicating himself to art. He was mainly self taught in this field but later started the first sketching class in Nottingham and was a founder of the Nottingham Society of artists. Most of Moore's landscapes were produced in or around the Nottingham area. He seems to have particuarly liked drawing and painting pub and inns as wellas scenes by the local rivers and canals. During this time and later in the nineteenth century his art was exhibited in Sheffield, Nottingham, Birmingham and London. T. C. Moore was also the father and teacher of Claude T. S. Moore (1853-1901), who became very well known for his paintings and watercolours of the Thames and other river views. A number of Thomas Cooper Moore's drawings and watercolours are housed in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. There are many more of his sketches to be seen on this web-site.