5 Suffolk Road in 1891 Cheltenham Post Office Directory.
Charles Garton & Co., brewers at Lawrence Hill, Bristol owned the Cotswold Stores in 1891. The Anglo-Bavarian Brewery of Shepton Mallet in Somerset acquired the business and the Cotswold Stores were in their ownership in 1903. The annual rateable value of the property, a beer house, was set at £17.0s.0d. in 1891 and 1903. The occupying landlord from 1883 to 1903 was William Hayward.
The following information is courtesy of Martin Edwards, a fellow pub historian.
In 1844 this building in Suffolk Road (see photo below), nearly opposite the Suffolk Arms, was once a pub called the Northwick Arms the landlord being William Spiers. By the year of 1880 the name of this pub had changed and was trading under the new name of the the Cotswold Stores and it was in business till about 1930, the last landlord being George Walter Holtham.
Image courtesy Martin Edwards
The last pints were pulled at the Cotswold Stores in 1929.
Hi Geoff,
On the cheltenhamsouthtown.org website it says of the property on the corner of Suffolk Road and Montpellier Retreat that “between 1856 and about 1934 this property was a beerhouse, or a combined public house and shop, called the Cotswold Stores Inn.” However, before this in 1844 Martin Edwards has identified it as the Northwick Arms landlord William Spiers. I couldn’t find a listing for the Northwick Arms in directories, but listed under “Beer Retailers” in the 1848 Edwards Directory there is a W. James, address Suffolk Road, and this couldn’t be the Suffolk Arms because that has its own listing with landlord T.J. King then.
The address number used to be 5 Suffolk Road (now 17), and in the 1872-3 Royal Directory D. & J. Potter, furniture brokers were listed. Across Suffolk Road, in what used to be Northwick Terrace (making sense of the Northwick Arms‘ name) I later found D. Potter listed as a china dealer and broker (1890-1 Post Office Directory). Both D. and J. Potter appeared as “chinamen” or china dealers in Suffolk Road (formerly Commercial Road) in Annuaires back to 1859.
Going forward in time from 1872-3, in the 1876 Royal Directory listing for Suffolk Road, D. Potter is still listed as a china dealer and broker on the south side of the road, but on the north side the listing for no.5 is “William Dawson, beerhouse.” Same in the 1878 Royal Directory.
In the 1880-1 Post Office Directory though, no.5 is listed as “A.H. Simpson, Cotswold Stores.” And Cotswold Stores is how it continues to be listed where the pub is named.
1883-4 Post Office Directory lists W. (William) Hayward – also 1891-2 Post Office Directory (but this just lists him as “Beerhouse keeper” This is the same in the 1900 & 1901 Annuaires.
The 1902 Built-Leonard still lists W. Hayward, but names the Cotswold Stores.
The 1903 & 1904 Annuaires list as 1900 & 1901, and the 1903 & 1904 Built-Leonards as 1902.
1905 – 1909 Annuaires list Mr. A. Hayward at 5 Suffolk Street – no pub name or even beerhouse keeper
1911 Built-Leonard Mr. Herbert Cotswold Stores – also 1913 Looker-On H. Herbert 5 Suffolk Road
