Barnard Castle pub offers drinkers a glimpse into its past – without leaving the bar

IN what is thought to be the first project of its kind in Britain, a Barnard Castle pub is letting people into its ancient cellars through a clever piece of technology.
The new interactive CCTV cameras in the bowels of the Old Well Inn, on The Bank, are proving to be a hit with young and old, as people take control to view every nook and cranny of two centuries old rooms.
And the clever kit is getting people to reveal a whole lot of hidden history that pub landlord, Roy Chatterjee, was not previously aware of.
One of the cameras is located two floors below ground and reveals the well from which the pub takes its name.
The idea for the cameras was an inspiration, Mr Chatterjee says.
He said: “We spent £2,000 on two HD (high definition) cameras because people kept saying ‘we want to go down, we want to go down’, but we couldn’t let them because of safety reasons.”
The second camera is placed in an area that was previously completely inaccessible.
The landlord said: “When we were cleaning this place out, we found a drain and what we believe was an oven. We believe this was the central heating.”
He also thinks the second cellar may be where beer was brewed more than a century ago.
He said: “People really get the feel of it, while sitting directly above the cellar.
“It is creating a lot of excitement.”
He added: “We have had students who have come in and we have had kids who have come in to do this.”
He goes on to say that a 91-year-old woman, who visited the pub with her family for lunch, was so captivated by the system that she spent almost two hours on it.
She helped the landlord set up an easy to use guide on how to work the system, which has now been printed out to help others who are new to it.
The cameras can rotate 360degrees, look up and down and also zoom in on features, and is operated using a computer mouse.
Mr Chatterjee said: “I’ve been doing research and there is no other pub in the UK where you can do this interactive thing.”
He hopes the niche attraction will bring more people into the pub.