The Hole in the Wall - Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK.
From the What Pub Website;
This historic inn was, until 1985, two different pubs. The current entrance on Shoplatch was originally the entrance to the Market Vaults (known locally as "The Bloodtub"), it had an alternate entrance off Gullet Passage. Indeed, it probably occupies the site of the 16th Century Gullet Inn, the name change coinciding with the building of the original Victorian market hall across the road (replaced in the 1960's). The original Hole in the Wall was only accessible from Drayton's Passage further down Shoplatch (the old entrance has now been relegated to a Fire Exit). The current Hole in the Wall name is in fact another nickname, originally it was the Star Vaults. This nickname probably arose from the usage of the building's cellars in it's pre-pub days as a debtors prison. The Cellar Bar area is now primarily used for live music nights (the many photographs which adorned the walls have now been redistributed around the rest of the pub).
The pub is popular in the daytime with its good value food offering, but it turns into a "circuit" venue at night, thus it can become noisy! (Live music Friday nights, DJ on Saturdays). The Hole in the Wall venue was an entry in the early days of the Good Beer Guide in 1975. Details were sparse at the time, but apparently Bass Worthington Bitter and M&B Mild were for sale, and it was said to be "an old pub of character"! For the early birds, confirmation that the bar opens at 9am, same time that the kitchen does for Breakfast (10am Sundays)." Text Source; (
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From The Historic Hostilieries Website;
"The inn that we have today is an amalgamation of two former public houses, the Market Vaults and the old Hole In The Wall. The inn is also on the site of a much older hostelry the Gullet Inn, which was mentioned in accounts for the town as early as 1527. For almost two hundred years it seems to have been the favourite lodgings for travelling performers, which we see from the same accounts when Lord Willoughby's actors, who were staying at the Gullet, were rewarded by the town council with 3s 1½d for their performance. In 1630 there is also mention of the inn having its own indoor tennis court for Real tennis as played by Henry VIII. The inn was sold in 1788 and was closed by 1793.
The section of the inn that faces Shoplatch and runs into the Gullet Passage has the date of 1863 embellished across the front of the building. It was first recorded as the Market House in 1868 the year before Shrewsbury's new general market was opened on the opposite side of the road. It has also been called the Market or the Market Vaults but to the locals it was also known as the Blood Tub. There has been some speculation about the origin of this name, with some believing that it referred to the colour and texture of the beer, while others thought that it was once a good place for a brawl." Text Source; (
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From the British Listed Building Website;
"Public house, purpose-built. Dated 1863. Mock-timber framing
with brick nogging to ground floor, plasterwork above, over
brick with plain tiled roof. 4 storeys, single-window range.
Recessed ground floor with central canted bay flanked by 2
doorways. Cornice with rosette decoration over, then oriel bay
with bull's eye glass and moulded mullions. Decorative
plasterwork over, with date and painted roses. Mullioned
window over, then jettied gable to attic with mullioned window
and quatrefoil panelling. Barge-boards enriched with vine
scroll decoration.
This frontage block is linked internally with another building
on Drayton Passage, the ground floor and cellars of which form
part of the Hole in the Wall: substantial stone walls
externally, and vaulted cellar inside (Drayton Passage qv)." Text Source; (
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Address;
1 Shoplatch, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 1HF