Pubs and Breweries in Gloucestershire Past and Present
Albert Arms, 85 St Pauls Road, Cheltenham
The Albert Arms was located on the western corner of Albert Street. An 1870 reference gives the address as 14 Hamilton Place. George James Cox was the owner of the Albert Arms in 1891 and 1903 but he leased it to the Cheltenham Original Brewery. It had an annual rateable value of £16.0s.0d. in 1891 and 1903 and was licensed as a beer house. The Albert Arms closed in 1968. It is now a private residence with no visible evidence of its past licensed history.
Gloucestershire Echo, Monday 7th March 1904 – Missing Cheltenham Publican. Body Found: The body of William Howell, landlord of the Albert Arms, Cheltenham, who has been missing since January 10th, has been found in a brook at Wainlode. It appears that a fisherman named William Church, of Tirley, was walking on the Commons, between Coombe Hill and Wainlode, and in a brook which lies between Apperley and Wainlode he discovered the body, and at once sent for P.C. Robinson, of Coombe Hill, who had it removed to the Swan Inn, Coombe Hill. The body was very much decomposed, and was found lying face downwards in about five feet of water. It is thought that the man must have been dead for some weeks, as owing to the floods it has been impossible to reach this particular spot for quite six weeks. The description of the dead man tallying with that of William Howell, the missing Cheltenham publican.
Mrs Howell was communicated with, and on Monday afternoon the body was identified as that of her husband. Howell, it will be remembered, got up very early on the morning of January 10th, and whilst his wife was lighting the fire went out into the street, and although diligent search was made no trace of his whereabouts could be found. His mind was at the time of his disappearance considerably unhinged by epileptic fits and other illness. The morning in question was one of the wildest experienced during the winter, and in his feeble state it was a matter of surprise that he reached such a distance from home as the point at which the body was found.
The case has been reported to the coroner, and an inquiry will be held.
Landlords at the Albert Arms include:
1870 Thomas Wall
1878,1883 Lucy Wall (an 1878 reference lists Lucy Well at the Albert Arms, Albert Street)
1891 George Tyler
1903 William Howell
Hi Geoff,
The Albert Arms was located on the western corner of the junction of St. Paul’s Road and Albert Street, this section of which, from the junction of Hanover Street, used to be called Hamilton Place, so the address for quite some time was given as 14 Hamilton Place (which was first listed under St. Paul’s Road in the 1926 Kelly’s Directory).
1870 you have Thomas Wall listed as the landlord. Going forward in time from there, I can flesh out landlords a little:
1872-3 & 1876 Royal Directories list under Hamilton Place “14 Thomas Wall Albert Arms“
1878 Royal Directory under Hamilton Place lists “14 Albert Arms Lucy Wall” – This is the same in the 1880-1 & 1883-4 Post Office Directories
1890-1 Post Office Directory is the same, except with Mr. George Tylar (their spelling) recorded as landlord. You have George Tyler, so I suspect either a typo, error or some period phoenetic spelling on the part of the directory compilers!
1902 Built-Leonard Directory lists Albert Arms – W. Howell after 13 Hamilton Place
1903 Annuaire (first listing) is under Hamilton Place “14 Albert Arms, Mr. W. Howell” and Built-Leonard as above.And in the 1904 editions both repeat these listings.
1905 – 1908 Annuaires list Mrs. Howell as the landlady, address the same.
1909 Annuaire same address but Mr. F. Turner landlord
1910 – 1912 Annuaires same address but Mr. H. Clark landlord; 1911 Built-Leonard spells Clarke with an e on the end.
1913 – 1916 Looker-On Directories same address Mr. H. Clark
1922, 1924 & 1925 Built-Leonard same address and H. Clarke still spelt with an e!
1926 & 1927 Kelly’s Directory Hamilton Place is listed under St. Paul’s Road, and no 14 is “Clark Henry, beer retailer” no pub name given. This is how the Kelly’s Directories record the premises through to 1952, with just landlords names changing.
1928 Kelly’s – landlord Alex George Banting
1929 – 1936 Edward Cecil J. Baylis
1937 – 1945 plus 1948, 1950 & 1952 Edward N. Naish
I ran out of directories after this until the Albert Arms closed in 1968.
But now let’s look back before 1870, because I found a pub called the Clippers Arms listed in the 1857 Harper’s Directory with a Hamilton Place address but no address number. The 1857 landlord was Henry Helton.
I wasn’t sure exactly where the Clippers Arms was located until I later got access to the 1855-7 Old Town Survey map, and on that it is clearly marked where the Albert Arms would later be located.
Because the Annuaires (which are all I had access to from 1853 – 1872 don’t list lowly beerhouses especially in working class areas for the most part, I don’t know when the Clippers Arms became the Albert Arms, or indeed if there was a gap between the two.
However, I can push back the existence of the Clippers Arms (or at least a beer retailer at that address) a little further, because in the 1851 and 1852 Edwards Directories, listed under “Beer Retailers” there is “Spreag, M. 14 Hamilton pl.”
Before this, in the 1847 Hunt & Co. Directory and 1848 & 1850 Edwards Directories listed under “Beer Retailers” there is a “Spreag R.” (Rich. in 1847) with a Rose & Crown Passage address. At first I thought this might have meant that Richard Spreag had been at the Rose & Crown Inn. But now I am not so sure. On the 1855-7 Old Town Survey map, adjoining the Rose & Crown to the north is a property marked “B.H.” for Beer House – no name given. Perhaps it is more likely that Richard Spreag was there if it existed previously. I think it likely he moved from one of them to 14 Hamilton Place and to what was or what became the Clippers Arms prior to becoming the Albert Arms.
Finally, on the 1855-7 Old Town Survey map, the Clippers Arms is clearly shown with an attached building its north-west corner marked “Brew Ho.” (Brew House), so early on must have been brewing its own beer.
Cheers,
Alan Jones
Hi Geoff,
Although on the 1855-7 Old Town Survey map, the pub at 14 Hamilton Place that would later be where the Albert Arms would be located was called the Clippers Arms, in the 1857 Harper’s Directory it is listed as the Clifford Arms, Henry Helton landlord.
