I found a Bristol pub guide from 1996 and a lot has changed

In 1996, John Major was prime minister, eBay was founded and Dolly the sheep became the first mammal to be successfully cloned.

In Bristol meanwhile, Rovers moved to the Memorial Stadium during a year when football fever swept the nation.

In the wider area, 1996 was the year when Avon County Council was abolished and it was for this reason that Last Guide to Avon’s Ale was produced by CAMRA in 1996 “to commemorate the demise of Avon”.

I picked up the 140-page guidebook for £1 at Hotwells Primary School’s Christmas fair so it only seems, umm, fair, that we start our quarter-of-a-century step back in time in Hotwells.

Out of 17 pubs listed in the area, the Adam & Eve, Albion, Crown & Anchor, Durty Nelly’s and Plume of Feathers are no longer in operation, while the American Eagle has changed its name to the Bag of Nails.

The former Crown & Anchor on Hotwell Road has now been turned into flats – photo: Martin Booth

A sign for the pub can still be seen in one of the front windows – photo: Martin Booth

The Adam & Eve on Hope Chapel Hill has only recently had its fate sealed, with builders currently on site to turn the building into flats.

The Crown & Anchor on Hotwell Road close to the Jacob’s Wells Road roundabout still has one sign in the window, while the demise of the Plume of Feathers was documented in a concept album:

A detour up to Clifton in 1996 would have seen us able to meet for a pint in Auntie’s on the Triangle, Bristol Blue and the Dog & Duck on Whiteladies Road, Colonel Jaspers on Queen’s Avenue, the Grapes on Sion Place, the Hobgoblin on Byron Place, the Red Lion on Worrall Road, and the Royal Oak on The Mall.

But let’s head down Park Street into the city centre, where in 1996 we would have been able to find:

• Artichoke, Lewins Mead
• Assize Courts Inn, 15 Small Street
• BJ’s Liquor Emporium, Baldwin Street
• Cheers, 7-9 St Nicholas Market
• Clipper, Prince Street
• College Tavern, 37 College Green
• Crown & Cushion, 9-11 Penn Street
• Dr Thirsty’s, King Street
• Frog & Toad, Frog Lane
• Horn & Trumpet, 14-15 St Augustine’s Parade
• Le Chateau, 32 Park Street
• Mailcoach, Bond Street
• No. 31 Corn Street, 31-33 Corn Street
• Pickled Newt, Fairfax Street
• Pineapple, St George’s Road
• Porcupine, St Nicholas Street
• Princes Bar, 64 Park Row
• Rat & Carrot, Broad Quay
• Three Sugar Loaves, 2 Christmas Steps
• Wig & Pen, 35 Corn Street

Smiles brewery was based at the Colston Yard on Colston Street – photo: www.beer-coasters.eu

It’s not just long-forgotten pubs in the guide but several breweries based across Bristol who are all no longer in operation.

In recent years, there has been an explosion in breweries but back in 1996 there were only nine in the guide.

These included Courage within the former George’s brewery now part of Finzels Reach; as well as Hardington, once of Dean Lane in Bedminster; Ross of 117-119 Stokes Croft, which had been set up in Hartcliffe in 1989 and held a world record for its 21% ABV Uncle Igor’s Famous Falling Over Water; and Smiles of Colston Yard on Colston Street.

Much of what is now Finzels Reach was once the George’s and later Courage brewery – photo: Martin Booth

Perusing the guide some more and there continues to be a long list of pubs that are now nothing more than distant memories.

These include the Bell in Redcliffe, the Bourne End in Brentry, the Bush in Totterdown, Don John’s Cross in St George, the Criterion in St Paul’s, the Duke of Cambridge in Easton, the Earl Russell in Lawrence Hill,  Elliott’s Emporium in Bedminster, the English Rose in Lawrence Weston, the Farriers Arms in Fishponds, Finnegan’s Wake on Cotham Hill, the Foresters in Westbury-on-Trym, the Forgemans Arms in Barton Hill, the Gainsborough in Lockleaze, the Glass Cutter in Hengrove, the Golden Bottle in Lockleaze, the Hollybush in Brislington, the Imp in Southville, the King Charles in Stokes Croft, the Kings Arms in Kingsdown, the Lamb & Lark in Speedwell, the Man in Space in Stockwood, the Mayor’s Arms in Redcliffe, the Midland Inn in Old Market, the Montpelier Hotel in Montpelier, the Nelson Arms in Redcliffe, the Pride of the Forest in Old Market, the Printers Devil in Old Market, the Red Hart in Hartcliffe, the Ship Aground on Ashley Hill, the Ship & Castle on Ashton Vale Road, the Showboat on Gloucester Road, the Venture Inn in Knowle West, the Village Inn in Mangotsfield, Wedlocks in Ashton Gate and the White Horse in St Paul’s.

The Gainsborough on Gainsborough Square in Lockleaze in 2008 – photo: Google

Cabinet members agreed to issue a compulsory purchase order in 2019 for the pub, which has been empty for more than a decade – photo: Martin Booth

Main photo: Martin Booth

Take a walk around the hidden corners of the Old City and Castle Park with Martin Booth and Yuup, finding some hidden pubs along the way: www.yuup.co/experiences/explore-bristol-s-quirkiest-corners

Read more: She Drinks Beer: debunking beliefs about brewing, beer and women

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