The famous Rock Lounge is accessed via a short stairway. Once the malting room of the old Brewhouse, a major feature of this room is the massive chimney that extends some sixty feet or so up through the Castle rock. This shaft, believed also to have been used as a hoist to and from the Castle for the ale that was brewed, is reputed to link into the extensive network of caves that honeycombs the rock.
Undoubtedly, the centrepiece of the Rock Lounge is the infamous Cursed Galleon. Legend has it that it that this nameless model of a galleon may have been presented to the Inn by a parting sailor but the motive for him having done so is unknown. Whatever the motivation may have been, this Galleon truly is possessed of a hideous curse - Legend has it that the last three people who cleaned it died very mysterious and unexpected deaths. No wonder that today the Cursed Galleon is housed in a glass presentation case above the Bar, safe from would-be cleaners and shrouded in what looks like at least fifty years of layers of undisturbed dust and cobwebs.
Festooned with relics of bygone ages, the Rock Lounge also houses the ‘pregnancy chair’. A decorative ancient wooden chair sitting by the fireplace, legend has it that any female that sits upon it will become pregnant. So, sit on it if you dare!
Also in this room is the entrance to Mortimer's Hole (see the seperate listing on the left of this page)
Check out the galleon now encased behind glass above the bar. It has accumulated several more than 50 years of dust from hanging in its orginal place in the chimney!
The Museum Room
Linked to the Rock Lounge by a bridging passageway through the rock, the Museum Room walls are home to a tapestry which very graphically depicts the history of Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem.
