Liverpool Pub Crawl - Ye Hole In Ye Wall

 

Located on Hackins Hey, one of the older streets in the city, the first Quaker house was housed in the street from 1706. Ye Hole In Ye Wall is stated to be Liverpool’s oldest public house with a date on the building of 1726. However this seems to be an error based on the date on the building as this was a cleared site in 1803 and a warehouse in the 1840s. The old facade only dates from somewhere between 1848 and 1891. From the 1860s to 1910 it was a shop selling spirits called O’Donnell’s.

The Hole in The Wall building in 1910

However it remains a small, well kept and tidy pub with old Liverpool scenes on the wall, lots of brass, beautiful wood panelling, stained glass and a cosy real flame fire. It is built on a former Quaker burial ground and is known for its unique layout, as the cellar is on the first floor. Traditionally known for abstaining from alcohol, the irony of building a pub on top of a Quaker burial site isn't lost on the pub’s owners. With consecrated ground comes tales of ghosts and this old coaching house can boast at least two. The most common ghoulish sighting by staff and customers is an eerie figure in a long wax jacket who has often been spotted lingering in the bar, often mistaken for one of the regulars. Many a customer have felt the ghostly presence, and a tale doth tell of the ghost of a Spanish sailor in the 18th century who was stabbed in the pub for not taking the King’s shilling. Other ghoulish regulars spotted at the pub include a man in a red top and a ghost dog who wanders in and out. The pub has a rich history, including a past as one of the last men-only pubs in Liverpool, only admitting women after the Sex Discrimination Act in 1976.