Epitaph to Architecture

There was an excellent pub in Nottingham by the name of The Flying Horse. An old coaching inn, it boasted extensive caves in the underlying sandstone rock. One memorable feature in one of the snugs, was a glass panel in the floor. This enabled you to see into the cellars, which were well-lit and spacious.

Original oak beams filled the place, and the timbered and wattle walls were in good condition. The atmosphere was wonderful, with big, open rooms as well as teeny hidey-holes for couples.

Built in 1483, the original house became a pub in the 17th Century, being known as the "Traveller's Inn". Situated on Poultry, near the bustling Market Square (the site of the world-famous Goose Fair) it was a popular resting-place for coachmen and merchants alike.

Alas, fire regulations meant that it could no longer be licensed, and development in the 1980s meant that it was converted into a shopping arcade, as no-one wanted to spend any money bringing the interior up to standard. The frontage, with its magnificent Pegasus carving, remains, but only after some arguments between the Council and the developers.

Gone are the drinkers of old, the wonderful beers, the oak-beamed rooms. The inside is filled now with garish shops and nostalgia, a testament to an age which seems to have stopped caring about architechture, but which needs six designs of table napkin, £100 "designer" t-shirts and faux-African sculpture.