‘There’s no such thing as a bad pub’

The sign outside the building on Blackboy Hill is not unusual: ‘Refurbished two-storey office space to let. Maybe suitable for alternative uses.’

Look inside and new carpets have been laid and multiple plug sockets installed. The estate agent has even made a slightly shaky promotional video if you want to see for yourself.

But this isn’t just any new office building. This is the former Blackboy Inn: with the original pub of the same moniker giving this stretch of Whiteladies Road its name.

It will never again be pulling pints, and as WiFi replaces IPAs it will become just the latest building in Bristol that used to be a pub.

The marketing blurb says that the location “benefits from strong footfall” but even that could not save the Blackboy Inn.

The original Blackboy Inn gave this stretch of Whiteladies Road its name – photo: Martin Booth

Only a few hundred yards away, numbers 26 and 28 Worrall Road were as recently as 2017 the site of the Red Lion pub.

It’s the same story across Bristol, with buildings that were once pubs making for sadly familiar scenes.

Whenever I cycle around our city, I cannot help but notice empty pubs, some of which are for sale as pubs, but most of which like the Blackboy will never again be places of happy chatter.

These places that were once full of life, the heartbeat of their local community, are now flats, shops and offices.

There is no such thing as a bad pub. That’s the joy of them. If you want craft beer served in half pint glasses accompanied by artisan pizza, there’s a pub for you. If you prefer Natch on tap and karaoke every Friday, there’s also a pub for you.

About a decade ago, I went on a pub crawl with my mate Paul to have a drink in some of what we had deduced were Bristol’s worst pubs.

But not long into our sojourn, I realised that just because we would not have chosen to visit a few of these hostelries, for the locals propping up the bars they were their favourite places in the whole world; so why should we be able to call them a bad pub?

Even one of the pubs on our aborted tour is no longer a pub any longer. The Standard of England in Southmead is now a Tesco Express.

A peeling sign is all that remains of the Prince Albert on Two Mile Hill in Kingswood – photo: Martin Booth

The former Prince of Wales pub in St Paul’s is now a cafe – photo: Martin Booth

Despite being listed as an Asset of Community Value, campaigners could not save the Three Crowns on Blackswarth Road from being turned into flats – photo: Martin Booth

The closure of the Plume of Feathers in Hotwells inspired a concept album of the same name about the decline of pubs – photo: Martin Booth

In a reversal of fortunes, the premises most recently known as Charlie’s Bar on Wells Road in Knowle, which has also been an Indian restaurant and a steakhouse, could soon be reopened by Alex Lee as the Talbot Inn.

In Windmill Hill, campaigners are fighting a desperate last-ditch fight to prevent the Windmill from being turned into flats. And in Hotwells, a group of committed residents want to save the Adam & Eve for the community.

They are both going to be difficult campaigns to win but both of these pubs have still got most of their fixtures and fitting intact, so could become pubs once again.

At pubs that remain open, landlords must be supported rather than restricted. Let’s class more pubs as Assets of Community Value, with capped rents to keep these communities alive.

Use it or lose it. A common adage, but one of no greater importance now for pubs.

Because once that last pint has been pulled and carpets laid where there were once bar stools, that’s last orders for ever.

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read more: Pub has licence revoked following complaints from residents and police

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