Nottingham Historical & Archaeological Society

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Joseph Burton & Sons – Talbot Street, Nottingham

Many Nottingham people remember Burton's department store on Smithy Row, but fewer realise that a large part of the Burton empire was based on Talbot Street.
The story began when Joseph Burton acquired important premises on Talbot Street in 1885. Beneath the site was a substantial sandstone cave system which Burton quickly recognised as a valuable asset. The naturally cool conditions made the caves ideal for storing food long before modern refrigeration existed. The caves were developed into a cold-storage facility and later became part of an ice-making operation that supplied businesses across Nottingham. Ice was delivered around the city by horse-drawn carts from the Talbot Street works.
The Talbot Street premises became the operational heart of the growing Burton business. While customers knew the famous Smithy Row store, the wholesale, storage and manufacturing side of the company was centred around Talbot Street. From here, goods were distributed throughout Nottingham and to an expanding chain of shops across the Midlands.
Joseph Burton himself was an extraordinary businessman. Born in Winster, Derbyshire, in 1832, he started modestly before building one of Nottingham's largest retail and food businesses. Burton's sold groceries, provisions, poultry, game, cakes and many other household goods. By the turn of the twentieth century the company had expanded into several towns and had become one of Nottingham's best-known commercial enterprises.
The Talbot Street complex also grew over time, with warehouses, offices, bakery facilities and manufacturing buildings. By the late twentieth century the site was known as Burton's Modern Bakers, and photographs taken in 1979 and 1980 show the former bakery and wholesale premises shortly before redevelopment transformed the area. Today, most people pass through Talbot Street with little idea that one of Nottingham's largest food businesses once operated there.
For cave enthusiasts, the site is particularly significant because it demonstrates how Nottingham's caves were adapted for industry. Rather than simply serving as medieval dwellings or storage cellars, the Burton caves became part of a sophisticated Victorian food-preservation and distribution network. Their use for cold storage and ice manufacture shows how Nottingham's sandstone caves continued to play an important commercial role well into the industrial age.

The Burton Talbot Street caves are a reminder that Nottingham's underground heritage was not just a relic of the past—it was actively supporting major local businesses and helping feed the city.

Photos by Tony Waltham published with permission.

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The Malt Kiln Cave, Castle Gate, Nottingham

Hidden beneath Castle Gate lies one of Nottingham's most fascinating industrial caves – a rare surviving medieval malt kiln that helps tell the story of the city's long association with brewing.
The cave was discovered during redevelopment work at a building on Castle Gate in 1966, revealing a remarkable complex of rock-cut chambers carved into Nottingham's famous sandstone. What archaeologists found was not simply another storage cave, but evidence of a complete underground malting operation dating back many centuries.
Before beer could be brewed, barley first had to be turned into malt. This involved soaking the grain, allowing it to germinate, and then carefully drying it in a kiln. Nottingham's sandstone caves provided the perfect environment for this process, maintaining cool and stable temperatures throughout the year.
The Castle Gate complex contained a circular kiln chamber where the malt would have been dried, along with adjoining chambers used during the malting process. A well was also discovered within the cave system, providing an essential water supply for the operation.
What makes this site particularly important is the archaeological evidence uncovered during excavation. One chamber contained a medieval garderobe (toilet), and pottery recovered from it dated to around the mid-13th century. This provided some of the earliest securely dated evidence for activity within Nottingham's cave network and helped establish just how long these underground spaces have been used.
The cave also demonstrates that Nottingham's caves were far more than simple storage spaces. They formed part of a thriving industrial landscape beneath the city streets. Long before large breweries dominated Nottingham, small-scale malting and brewing operations were already making use of the sandstone beneath Castle Gate.
Today, the Malt Kiln Cave is recognised as being of national importance and forms part of a Scheduled Monument. It is regarded as one of the best surviving examples of a cave malthouse in Nottingham, helping archaeologists understand how medieval industry operated beneath the city.
For those interested in Nottingham's underground heritage, the Castle Gate Malt Kiln serves as a reminder that beneath the modern streets lies a hidden world of workshops, wells, kilns and chambers that once played a vital role in the daily life and economy of the medieval town.

Photo by Tony Waltham published with permission.

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A 360 photo of an area in the Bridlesmith Gate caves. Move your phone around to look or click the photo and drag the photo.
Can you spot the photographer?

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Elephant Rock – Brewhouse Yard, Nottingham

Nestled beneath the shadow of Nottingham Castle, the remarkable Rock House, better known locally as "Elephant Rock", is one of Nottingham's most distinctive surviving cave dwellings. Carved directly into the soft Nottingham sandstone and enhanced with built structures, it perfectly illustrates how generations of Nottingham people adapted the natural landscape into homes, workshops and storage spaces.
The nickname "Elephant Rock" comes from the shape of the sandstone outcrop itself, which, from certain viewpoints, resembles the head and trunk of an elephant. It has become one of the most recognisable features within Brewhouse Yard and a symbol of Nottingham's unique underground heritage.
Brewhouse Yard has a history stretching back many centuries. Long before modern Nottingham developed, people were excavating caves into the sandstone cliffs below the castle. These caves provided cool, dry and secure spaces that could be used for everything from homes and cellars to workshops and breweries. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the area was a bustling community of cave dwellings and cottages built directly against the rock face.
Elephant Rock itself is a fascinating example of this way of life. Unlike many Nottingham caves that are hidden beneath modern buildings, this cave dwelling remains visible from the outside, allowing visitors to appreciate the unusual combination of natural rock and human construction. It serves as a reminder that many of Nottingham residents once lived in cave homes throughout the city.
The caves around Brewhouse Yard have seen many uses over the centuries. As well as housing families, they have been used for brewing, malting, storage and industry. During the Second World War, many caves in the area were adapted as air raid shelters, once again proving the value of Nottingham's underground spaces.
Today, Elephant Rock remains one of the finest surviving examples of Nottingham's cave-dwelling heritage. It stands as a visible reminder of the ingenuity of past generations and of the city's internationally significant sandstone cave network.

The Nottingham Historical and Archaeological Society was fortunate enough to receive special permission to photograph the interior of the Elephant Rock cave. Opportunities to record and document spaces such as this are invaluable, helping to preserve a visual record of Nottingham's underground heritage for future generations. Many of these locations are not normally accessible to the public, making such surveys and photographs an important part of protecting and promoting the city's unique cave history.
As with so many of Nottingham's caves, Elephant Rock is more than just a hole in the sandstone—it is a connection to the people who lived, worked and sheltered beneath the city for centuries. Every surviving cave helps tell the story of Nottingham's past, and Elephant Rock remains one of the most recognisable and important examples still standing today.

Have you ever noticed Elephant Rock while walking through Brewhouse Yard?

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The Bridge in the Bridlesmith Gate caves.

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Reminder about this Saturdays open day.
If you’ve ever been curious about what we’ve been uncovering in Nottingham’s caves and wells, this is the perfect chance to come and see the discoveries up close.

Access is via stairs only (see photo)
Streetview photo from Google.


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York House and the Lost Nottingham Brewery – A Hidden Piece of Nottingham's Brewing and Cave Heritage

Many Nottingham people will remember York House on Mansfield Road, a familiar office block that stood opposite Victoria Centre for decades. What fewer people realise is that beneath York House lay part of one of Nottingham's most important industrial sites – the historic Nottingham Brewery and its extensive network of rock-cut caves and cellars.
The site has a brewing history stretching back to at least 1847, when brewer James Long operated from Mansfield Road. The business expanded significantly after being acquired by Edward Wheeler Field in 1879 and soon became known as the Nottingham Brewery Company.
By the late Victorian period, Nottingham Brewery had become one of the city's largest and most successful breweries. In 1888–89 the site was completely rebuilt to an impressive design by brewery architect William Bradford. The huge complex dominated Mansfield Road and was regarded as one of the most modern breweries in the country.
What made the brewery particularly suited to Nottingham was what lay beneath it.
Like much of the city centre, the site sat above Nottingham's soft sandstone bedrock. Over centuries, extensive caves and storage chambers had been excavated beneath the area. The brewery took full advantage of these naturally cool underground spaces, using them to store and condition beer. Their famous "Rock Ales" derived their name from these rock-cut cellars.
The arrival of Nottingham Victoria Station and the Great Central Railway in the 1890s transformed the brewery even further. A remarkable underground connection was created between the brewery and the railway network, allowing beer to be transported directly from the brewery to waiting railway wagons. This enabled Nottingham beer to be distributed across Britain and beyond, helping establish the brewery's national reputation.
For decades the brewery thrived, supplying numerous pubs throughout Nottinghamshire and neighbouring counties. However, changing times eventually caught up with the business. Following its sale to Tennant Brothers of Sheffield in 1944, brewing operations gradually wound down before finally ceasing in 1952.
The brewery buildings survived for only a few more years. By around 1960 the magnificent Victorian complex had been demolished, removing one of Nottingham's most impressive industrial landmarks.
The site was later redeveloped as York House, an office building that many Nottingham residents will remember from the second half of the twentieth century. Various organisations occupied the building over the years, including educational institutions and broadcasting services. Yet beneath the modern structure, much of the sandstone cellar and cave system survived, hidden from public view.
York House itself was demolished in 2016, bringing another chapter of the site's history to an end. Today little remains above ground to hint at the site's remarkable past.
Perhaps the most visible surviving link to the brewery is the nearby Rose of England public house, designed by Watson Fothergill in 1899. It remains one of Nottingham's finest Victorian pubs and a lasting reminder of the brewing empire that once stood next door.
The York House site perfectly illustrates Nottingham's unique heritage. On the surface stood a major Victorian brewery, later replaced by a modern office block. Beneath it all survived a network of caves that helped power the city's brewing industry and formed part of Nottingham's extraordinary underground landscape.
It is another reminder that some of Nottingham's most fascinating history lies not in what we can see, but in what remains hidden beneath our feet.

Photos by Tony Waltham published with permission.
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Stoney Street, Nottingham – From Saxon Thoroughfare to the Heart of the Lace Market
Few streets in Nottingham can claim a history as rich and varied as Stoney Street. Today it is known for its impressive Victorian warehouses and its place at the centre of the Lace Market, but its story stretches back well over a thousand years.
The origins of Stoney Street are thought to lie in the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Nottingham. Historians believe it formed part of the main route running through the early town, making it one of the oldest surviving streets in the city. Its name is generally believed to derive from it being a "stone" or paved road at a time when many streets were little more than muddy tracks. This would have marked it out as an important route through the settlement.
During the medieval period, Stoney Street became a busy commercial thoroughfare. Merchants, craftsmen and traders would have lived and worked here, taking advantage of its position close to the town's market areas. Beneath the street, Nottingham's soft sandstone was already being excavated, creating caves that served as storage areas, workshops and cellars.
By the 18th century, Stoney Street had become one of Nottingham's most desirable residential addresses. Wealthy families built substantial town houses along the street, including the grand Plumptre House and Pierrepont House. At this time, the area would have looked very different from the Lace Market we know today, with elegant Georgian residences standing where towering warehouses now dominate the skyline.
Everything changed during the 19th century with the rapid expansion of Nottingham's lace industry. As the city became the world's leading centre for machine-made lace production, merchants required larger and more sophisticated premises. One by one, the old houses disappeared and were replaced by magnificent warehouses, showrooms and offices.
The result was one of the finest collections of Victorian commercial architecture in Britain. Many of the buildings that survive today were designed by some of Nottingham's most celebrated architects, including Thomas Chambers Hine, whose influence can still be seen throughout the Lace Market.
Perhaps the most famous building on Stoney Street is the Adams Building. Constructed between 1854 and 1874 for lace manufacturer Thomas Adams, it was far more than simply a warehouse. It incorporated showrooms, offices and facilities for workers that were considered remarkably progressive for the Victorian era. Today it remains one of Nottingham's architectural masterpieces and a symbol of the city's industrial success.
Stoney Street is also home to the historic Old Angel, one of Nottingham's oldest surviving inns. While much of the street reflects the Victorian lace boom, the Old Angel offers a glimpse into an earlier Nottingham, standing as a reminder of the centuries of history that pre-date the Lace Market.
Of course, no discussion of Stoney Street would be complete without mentioning the caves beneath. Like much of central Nottingham, the street sits atop a honeycomb of man-made sandstone caves. These underground spaces have served many purposes over the centuries, from medieval storage cellars and workshops to industrial spaces connected with the lace trade. Many buildings along the street incorporated caves directly into their operations, demonstrating Nottingham's unique ability to utilise its sandstone geology.
Today, Stoney Street remains one of the most important historic streets in Nottingham. Walking its length is like travelling through different periods of the city's history. Beneath your feet lie medieval caves; around you stand some of the finest Victorian warehouses in Europe; and the route itself follows a path that may have been walked by Nottingham's earliest inhabitants more than a thousand years ago.
It is a street that perfectly encapsulates Nottingham's story – from Saxon settlement to medieval market town, from Georgian elegance to Victorian industrial powerhouse, all layered above a remarkable underground world carved from sandstone.
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