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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Entertainment
Robin Murray

'Lost' pubs of Bristol city centre and what they are now

For a city as bohemian and hedonistic as Bristol, you would be forgiven for expecting to find a few more pubs in the city centre, although there are still plenty to choose from.

But once upon a time there were many more boozers in the central districts of the city than there are now, many of which were demolished when the city was remodelled after the war.

Below is a round-up of former pubs in the centre of Bristol which have closed over the decades, and what they are now.

Take a sticky-floored trip down memory lane...

Carpenters Arms, Horsefair

The Carpenters Arms in 1953 (Unknown)

The landlord of the Carpenters Arms between 1854 and 1855 was a carpenter named Simon Dumble, which is how the pub was believed to have got its name.

Located on the Horsefair, the former Georges Brewery boozer was one of many buildings in central Bristol demolished as part of a redevelopment after the Blitz.

It was knocked down to make way for two major stores, a Lewis's department store and Jones, which would put Bristol back on the map as the region's top shopping centre, it was hoped.

That building is now home to Primark on the Horsefair.

Greyhound Hotel, Broadmead

The Greyhound Hotel in Broadmead, 1959 (jon Kent/Bristol Live)

The facade of the former Greyhound Hotel is still standing today and you will recognise it well, as it's one of the main entrances to The Galleries.

It was built in 1620 but most of its original features haven't survived the numerous alterations it has undergone.

It was a very well-known and popular coaching inn in its heyday, with spacious stabling yards at the rear.

Now it is how thousands of people access The Galleries every day from Broadmead - before lockdown that is, of course.

It became an entrance to the shopping mall in 2000.

Saracen's Head Hotel, Temple Gate

This medieval coaching inn dates back all the way to at least 1613, but was demolished circa 1895.

It was located opposite Bristol Temple Meads at Temple Gate, which has been subject to large-scale roadworks in recent years.

The demolition of the Saracen's Head left a triangular plot of land, which is where printing and packaging firm Mardon constructed its factory, which it called Caxton Works.

That warehouse was destroyed in the Blitz.

Temple Gate (David Betts Photography)

Cat and Wheel, Castle Green

The Cat & Wheel pub, Castle Green, in 1880 (Bristol Live)

The Cat & Wheel survived the blitz, was de-licensed in January 1968 and demolished in October 1969.

It was scrapped when Broadmead, as we know it today, was created.

If the pub was still standing today it would be located in Castle Park, opposite the entrance to the Galleries car park in Newgate.

The name of one of the pub's landlords, William Beavis, was displayed above the door.

It was one of the pubs attacked in the 1831 riots by "gangs of 20 men or so demanding drink".

It is said that a man once died at the pub due to apoplexy brought on by drinking too much port wine.

After being brought to the pub in a "state of intoxication", an enormous quantity of the liquid was found in his stomach after he was cut open to determine the cause of his death.

The Llandoger Trow, King Street

The Llandoger Trow on King Street (Bristol Post)

Ah how we miss the Llandoger Trow...

It's something of an unspoken scandal that such a landmark building is currently empty and in need of a new owner with deep pockets.

The iconic building in King Street, usually Bristol's busiest drinking street, dates back centuries and has tales of pirates and treasures written in and involving it.

It's still on the market for one million pounds, and the agent Graham Clifford, at Christie & Co reckons there's scope there to turn it back into what it would have been in its heyday - an inn where you could stay the night, or maybe longer.

The vast pub is over two floors and you could seat 200 in there when you're eventually allowed to by the health chiefs.

The pub closed a year ago which, understandably given its historic value, caused a huge deal of surprise and sadness.

 
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