ADVERTISING FEATURE: Landlords past and present celebrate 40 years of historic Lancaster pub

A historic Lancaster pub located inside 17th century wine cellars is celebrating its 40th birthday.

The Merchants 1688 first opened at Castle Hill near Lancaster Castle in 1984.

The pub is known for its distinctive cellar-like rooms, paying homage to the building's long history.

Tim Tomlinson, who also owns the White Cross and the Stonewell Tap in Lancaster, bought the pub in July 2007.

To celebrate the 40th birthday, Tim and the Merchants' former manager Mark Bleasdale, who worked at the pub from its opening night until 2000, shared some memories of its history.

LISTEN to Tim Tomlinson and Mark Bleasdale talking about the history of the Merchants 

"It's certainly a building with a lot of history," said Tim.

"Originally it was a merchants' cellars. We've no absolute clarity on when the first cellars were built, but it was a wine merchants early on from the late 1600s/early 1700s.

"The wine would come from ports on the Quay, rolled up in big barrels into here, then it would be bottled off and sold to the local vintners.

"It was a rubber factory for some time, then a glass shop."

Mark said: "It was originally opened in 1984 by David Newton who had the glass shop above the Merchants. He opened the pub with his wife Lorraine.

"It was a great time, a busy pub. Lots and lots of people coming in.

"Before that, it was the cellars of the building above. It had previously been Lancaster Rubber Company.

"I love it, it's still the best pub in town."

Today, the Merchants 1688 has gained a great reputation as a high quality gastro-pub.

"The food now is really top end," said Tim.

"We're really proud of what we do, we've got a superb head chef and general manager, and a really good team.

"I think we are getting well known. We had a great review from The Observer food critic Jay Rayner about a year ago.

"Then we got our first rosette from the AA, which is a mark of quality food.

"It's a great place to come to from anywhere in the North West for a bite to eat and a drink.

"It is a feature of Lancaster and 40 years is a long time for any business to remain and have the same name. 

"Hopefully we'll be here for many years to come yet."

This feature has been produced in association with Lancaster BID Business Birthdays.