The Strugglers Inn

Tiny historic pub directly under the castle wall

The Strugglers is one of Lincoln's smallest and oldest pubs — a low-ceilinged single-bar inn directly under the western wall of Lincoln Castle, originally built in the 18th century for the crowds that gathered to watch public executions across the road. It has been continuously a pub ever since.

Six or seven real ales on tap, mostly from Lincolnshire breweries (Batemans, Castle Rock, Tom Wood). The bar food is limited but the beer is the point. Dogs welcome; the pub regularly wins local CAMRA awards. Open from afternoon until late.

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A story
The pub's grim name commemorates the public executions once held outside Lincoln Castle, on the green directly opposite — the "struggle" being the final convulsions of the condemned on the gallows. The pub was a popular vantage point for watching the hangings until the practice ended in the 1850s.

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