This pub is not only a grade II listed building, it is also on CAMRA’s National Inventory of Pub Interiors of Outstanding Historic Interest and the description is as follows: “Derby's oldest pub with the licence said to date from 1580. This four room pub is a remarkable survivor considering its city-centre location. It is a late 16th-century building but most of what we see today is the result of an inter-war restoration, which created much of the internal arrangements and character of the pub. Externally the upper floor is half-timbered though a close inspection will show that the timbers date from the inter-war remodelling - the original timbers failed when the external rendering was removed. The entrance leads to a corridor passing through the building: it used to lead to some cottages but these have been demolished and a drinking patio has been created. A staircase on the right leads to '1530 AD Steak Bar' (the pub claims to date from 1530) - an upstairs restaurant open Thu, Fri, Sat from 6.30pm. This room has massive 16th-century timbers and an old brick fireplace with a brass hood. The four bars are to the left of the passage and are grouped around a central servery. The lovely small snug (rear right) has a part-glazed partition wall around the servery, full-height fielded wood panelling with a painted grain effect, and inter-war fixed seating and leaded windows; the fireplace is possibly tiled but painted black: service is from a hatch/door. The lounge (rear left) has more interwar furnishings including a large inglenook fireplace. The front right bar has a red quarry-tiled floor, dado panelling with benches attached, a brick and wood surround fireplace with a log fire: the bar-back fitting is inter-war but the counter was replaced in the 1980s. On a slightly higher level is Offilers Lounge, named after the local brewery which was closed by (Bass) Charrington in 1966, and so called because contained Offilers' breweriana (since removed). There are a number of bell-pushes in the panel above the fixed seating but the fireplace is modern. Ghost walks start from here on the first or second Monday of each month and include a meal in the '1530 AD' restaurant.”

The listing description is as follows: “Public house. Late C16, much restored in the early C20. Timber-framed and rendered. Clay tile roof, partly with old tiles. PLAN. Corner site. L-shaped. A passage on the right (formerly a public thoroughfare), has rooms and staircases Two bars on the Queen Street front with a lounge and a small snug. Central bar. Restaurant upstairs. EXTERIOR. On left gable at right angles to the street. A further gable on the return. Extensive half-timbering on the first storey but this dates from an early C20 remodelling. Casement windows of 2-, 3-, and 4-lights, all C20. INTERIOR. In the restaurant upstairs large C16 beams exposed. In the snug and lounge an early C20 remodelling including thefull-height panelling. Glazed screen between the servery and snug. Parts of the wall seating probably C19. Bell-pushes in the bar on the street corner. HISTORY. Derby's oldest pub with the licence said to date from 1580.”

According to Real Ale in Derby, the pub is the “most picturesque and oldest surviving pub in city centre, though much restored. Characterful interior comprises bar, snug and two lounges, while upstairs is a steak bar looking out over bustling Queen Street.”

The Olde Dolphin Inne features on the Rams, Rails and Real Ales: Daytime Pub Tour of Derby on 25 March 2023.

WhatPub link: WhatPub/Olde Dolphin Inne

Pub Heritage Group link: PHG/Olde Dolphin Inne