Sandstone Cave under Stonebridge Park

  Left: the car park area at the rear of the newly built Beacon Hill House, and right, the Peverel pub which stood on the site, and demolished in 2008.

Blue Bell Hill House, a block of new apartments in Dennett Close, hides a hidden secret, there was once a sandstone cave which now lies under the rear car park. The 1989 Nottingham Geo-environmental Desk Study of Caves, lists Bc1 (NGR 58134 40756) as being 36 feet long by 10 ½ feet wide. When the Peverel public house was built in 1975 its beer cellar occupied the cave. However, before the Peverel pub was built this cave was used as an air raid shelter during World War II.

The same study lists a second sandstone cave Bc2 (NGR 58090 40402) located under the former Blue Bell Hill public house shown here on the right. It is recorded as being 38 feet long by 12 feet wide, and was also used as an air raid shelter. Today it lies near Paul’s shop, which in the 1960s the pub was at the Alfred Street South - Robin Hood Street junction. The cellar consisted of a rectangular chamber entered by steps from the Pub with an exit at the far end into the yard. The shelter could accommodate 35 people.

Nottingham’s system of old sandstone caves date from the 16th century.