The George, or Lower George Inn, situated on the eastern corner of Milsom Street, was originally numbered 205 High Street in 1927. The present address is 377 Lower High Street.
Corpus Christi College of Oxford were the owners of the George Inn in 1891 and 1903, although the premises were leased to the Cheltenham Original Brewery. It had an annual rateable value of £21.5s.0d. and was classified as an alehouse.
After it closed as a pub the license was retained and it became the home of Cheltenham North Rugby Club.
The property later became O’Connor’s Social Club.
A magnificent Cheltenham Original Saloon Bar etched brewery window, which used to grace the Milsom Street side of the old pub, mysteriously disappeared in the summer of 2002. I wrote to the Gloucestershire Echo to ask if anyone had any knowledge about its removal, but I had no response. I was suspicious as in March 2002 the social club had submitted an application for the conversion of the property to five apartments and the demolition of the single-storey section of the existing building. The application had been approved.
The conversion never took place as O’Connor’s Social Club was still in business a year later when a St Patricks Day celebration dance took place in March 2003.
Cheltenham Labour Club then took over the premises. The building now has approval for conversion to residential use and the Labour Club are believed to have vacated in February 2019.
Landlords at the (Lower) George Inn include:
1830 William Hands (Lower George, High Street)
1844 Philip Masters (Lower George, 206 High Street – researched by Martin Edwards)
1856 W. Brunsdon
1859 William Brunsdale
1870 Thomas Houghton
1881 Claire Scotland
1883, 1906 John Hill
1926,1927 William Pope
1939 Hy. Ball
