The Gamecock Inn was originally housed in a regency building situated on the corner of St. Margarets Road and Monson Avenue. It was located directly opposite the Cheltenham Brewery. The Gamecock Inn is not mentioned in either the 1891 or 1903 licensing books, or indeed any contemporary Cheltenham town directories. It was a popular pub in the 1950’s.
The original Gamecock Inn was demolished to make way for the West Country Breweries offices – a modern tower block, and the licence was transferred to a new pub, also called the Gamecock, on the ground floor of the office block.
The second edition of the ‘tippler’ (CAMRA Gloucestershire newsletter) in February 1978 contained the following article: ‘Roots: It’s nice to see Whitbread tracing their roots on the windows of the Gamecock near their headquarters in Cheltenham. The trademarks of Starkey’s, Flowers, Cheltenham & Hereford, and Stroud Breweries are proudly displayed around the more familiar maroon Whitbread symbol.’
Just before it closed in the early 1990’s it was known as the Brewery Tap. Just before it was demolished a box of glass photographic plates were recovered from the building which were going to be thrown into the skip. Kenneth Smith, a retired printer, was amazed that the dusty plates he retrieved contained pictures of local pubs. It begs the question what other artifacts were lost when the old Whitbread / West Country Breweries office block was demolished in July 2004.
The site is now occupied by the brewery retail centre multi-storey car park.
