View source for The Nutshell

{{other uses|Nutshell (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox building
| name        = The Nutshell
| etymology   =
| image       = File:Nutshell Public House, Bury St Edmunds.jpg
| caption     = The Nutshell in 2011
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 13
| map_caption = Location
| coordinates ={{coord|52.244754|N|0.712703|E|region:GB|display=title,inline}}
| location    = [[Bury St Edmunds]], Suffolk
| address     = 17 The Traverse, Bury St Edmunds
| owner       =
| opened      =
| website     =http://www.thenutshellpub.co.uk/
}}
'''The Nutshell''' is a [[pub]] in [[Bury St Edmunds]], [[Suffolk]],  England, that until 2016 claimed to be the smallest pub in Britain, although this claim was challenged by several others, including the Smiths Arms at [[Godmanstone]] (since closed) and the Lakeside Inn in [[Southport]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/southport-news/southport-southport-news/2008/09/05/southport-s-smallest-british-pub-title-holder-scoops-big-award-101022-21676650/|title=Southport's Smallest British Pub title holder scoops big award|publisher=[[Southport Visiter]]|date=5 September 2008|last=Siddle|first=John|accessdate=7 July 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716163136/http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/southport-news/southport-southport-news/2008/09/05/southport-s-smallest-british-pub-title-holder-scoops-big-award-101022-21676650/|archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/the-nutshell-pub-in-bury-st-edmunds-reopens-after-lockdown-2698546|title=One of UK's smallest pubs finally reopens after lockdown|work=East Anglian Daily Times|date=20 September 2020|access-date=4 October 2021}}</ref>

The pub is certainly diminutive so that no more than ten or fifteen customers can drink inside at any one time.{{citation needed|date=October 2021|reason=Webb p.2 suggests 20 on an average night}} The pub measures {{convert|4.57|x|2.13|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/heritage/england/suffolk/article_1.shtml|title=Beer in a Nutshell|page=1|work=[[BBC Online]]|first=David|last=Webb|accessdate=7 July 2010|date=August 2003}}</ref> In 1984, a record number of 102 people squeezed into the pub.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/heritage/england/suffolk/article_2.shtml|title=Beer in a Nutshell|page=2|work=[[BBC Online]]|first=David|last=Webb|accessdate=7 July 2010|date=August 2003}}</ref>

The Nutshell has been trading as a pub since 1867, although the building is much older and formerly had other uses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nutshell, Smallest Pub with an interesting history |url=http://www.thenutshellpub.co.uk/pub-history.html |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=www.thenutshellpub.co.uk}}</ref> Inside, the [[Dried cat|dried body]] of a black cat is displayed, It is around 400 years old and was discovered in 1935 during building work.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Emily |date=2021-08-30 |title=Britain's smallest pub with a mummified cat hanging above the bar |language=en |url=https://www.suffolklive.com/whats-on/nutshell-inside-britains-smallest-pub-5849860 |access-date=2022-11-11}}</ref><ref name="Pub-Heritage">{{Cite web |title=Nutshell - Pub Heritage |url=https://pubheritage.camra.org.uk/pubs/146 |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=pubheritage.camra.org.uk|publisher=Campaign for Real Ale}}</ref> In former times, the bodies of cats were often placed inside the structure of buildings to bring good luck to the building and its occupants.

The building has been [[Listed building|Grade II listed]] since 1972{{Listed building England|1038277|note=Listed building}}.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat|The Nutshell, Bury St Edmunds}}
{{oscoor gbx|TL852642}}

{{National Inventory Pubs}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nutshell, The}}
[[Category:Bury St Edmunds]]
[[Category:Grade II listed pubs in Suffolk]]
[[Category:National Inventory Pubs]]