Frederick David James George was the owner of the Bath Hotel in 1891 and he ran it free of brewery tie. Sometime within the next 12 years it was sold to the Anglo-Bavarian Brewery of Shepton Mallet, Somerset. The Bath Hotel was an ale house and it had an annual rateable value of £42.10s.0d. in 1891 and 1903. The address in the old numbering system was 4 Albion Street.
I have fond memories of the front bar of the Bath Hotel in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s when it sold one of the best pints of ‘PA’ (West Country Pale Ale) in Cheltenham.
In the mid 1980’s the name of the pub changed to the Dawn Run – after the racehorse that won the 1986 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The tenant landlady of the Dawn Run left the pub without warning on 16th March 2003 taking with her most of the furniture and fittings. The owners Enterprise Inns sought legal advice on the civil recovery of the items and the pub was closed. In a statement Enterprise Inns said: “The owners of the Dawn Run can confirm that the pub is closed for refurbishment and is due to reopen on April 7th. Steven Cremin took on the Enterprise lease, he was also the joint landlord of the Shakespeare pub in the Lower High Street.
In October 2007 the Dawn Run was offered for sale with an asking price of £350,000. The agents responsible for the sale, Fluerets West & South Wales, invited prospective buyers but viewing had to be via appointment as the Dawn Run had ceased trading.
The Dawn Run was put on the market again, freehold, for £295,000 in March 2008. Admiral Taverns simply declared that: “The pub is being sold because it doesn’t fit Admiral’s pub portfolio.” London-based property agents Paramount Investments conducted the sale on behalf of the pub company. The property was bought by Mustafa Cerikan who converted it to the Angora Meze Bar – a Turkish Restaurant.
An application was submitted to Cheltenham Borough Council in February 2009 for internal alterations to ground floor, repair and renovations to first and second floors and repair and painting to the front elevation. When building work commenced there was some controversy when a passageway at the side of the old Bath Hotel was blocked off. The manager of the Everest Balti House, located behind the building in Portland Street, claimed that the narrow passage was a vital access route used by their employees and disabled residents of the neighbouring building. The owner of the Everest Balti House insisted that the alley had been used since he had been there for the last 30 years and his predecessor had access to it since the 1950’s. Both parties in the dispute threatened to take the case to a Land Tribunal.
A search on the internet seems to indicate that the Angora Meze Bar has now closed. Looking at on-line maps it also appears that the disputed passageway is now fully accessible. A fortunate survivor throughout its various incarnations since the demise of the original Bath Hotel is a ‘Best in the West – 1760 – West Country Ales’ ceramic plaque that is still in situ.
Landlords at the Bath Hotel / Dawn Run include:
1844 H. Pointer (senior)
1856 J. Low
1885 Herbert Henry Williams
1891 William Henry Lloyd Evans
1902,1903 Agnes Wood
1919,1927 George Smith
2003 Steven Cremin (Dawn Run)
