Bath Hotel / Dawn Run, 14 Albion Street, Cheltenham

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.

Alan Jones kindly sent me the following notes:

“In your listing you start with H. Pointer as a landlord in 1844, but there is a bit of interesting pre-history (and even if you don’t want to use it, you might like to know it)

I think the Bath Hotel actually started off in the corner property that is the Chicken Inn. I found Bath Hotel listed in the 1842 Annuaire for Portland Street (W.H. Eyles), then in the 1843 edition as Bath Hotel 1 Portland Street (W. Niblett). Interestingly, prior to this in the 1838 to 1841 Annuaires 1 Portland Street was listed as H. Pointer, Wine Merchant.

H. Pointer was landlord of the Bath Hotel in 1844 through to 1847. Then there is an anomaly – in the 1847 Annuaire he is still listed as landlord of the Bath Hotel, but in the 1847 Hunt & Co. Directory he is listed under ‘Maltsters’ for Warwick Place [Anchor brewery] and under ‘Brewers’ the same, and also as an Insurance agent for Yorkshire (Fire and Life) at 65 Winchcomb Street – which is I think the attached building that was a licensed premises itself at times (e.g. Great Western Hotel, Pittville Hotel). I guess Mr. Pointer must have made the move in 1847.

There is a gap 1847 and 1848. I do have 2 names for those years listed as “Beer Retailers” in Albion Street but cannot be sure if they belong to the Bath Hotel. The names are Merideth [sic] Evans 1847 Hunt & Co. Directory and H. Barrow 1848 Edwards Directory. Not sure yet where else they might fit.”

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 16^th 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 7^th. 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.

Above and below images courtesy Chris Amies. Now trading as Eden Restaurant, Polish Kitchen. The West Country Ales ‘Best in the West’ plaque has survived.

Landlords at the Bath Hotel / Dawn Run include: (additional information courtesy Alan Jones)

1844 H. Pointer (senior)

1850 W. Blackwell (Edwards listed under Inns and Public Houses)

1851, 1852 J. Low (as above) also 1856 Annuaire listed under Bath Hotel

1856 J. Low

1857 Mrs. Low (Annuaire)

1858 to 1860 James Phillips (Annuaires)

1861 to 1863 John King (Annuaires)

1872 H. Edington (1872-3 Royal Directory)

1876 and 1878 Valentine Cooper (Royal Directories)

1880-1 T. Smiley (Post Office Directory)

1885 Herbert Henry Williams

1891 William Henry Lloyd Evans

1901 Mrs. (Agnes) Wood (Annuaire) right through to 1913 Looker-On in various directories

1902,1903 Agnes Wood

1914 to 1916 Mr. G. Smith (Looker-On)

1919 – 1930 George Smith (Annuaires/Built-Leonard/Kelly)

1931 to 1934 A.G. Herbold (31 spelling), A.G. Herbolt (32 spelling) A.G. Herboldt (33 & 34 spelling) all Built-Leonard!

1935 William Albert Lambert (Kelly)

1936 to 1945 Fred D. Outhwaite (Kelly)

1948, 1950 and 1952 Mrs. Outhwaite (Kelly)

2003 Steven Cremin (Dawn Run)

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