The address of the Hewlett Inn is given as 11 Hewlett Street in 1891 Cheltenham Post Office Directory. Hewlett Street later became known as Hewlett Road, and is that part of the road from London Road to Duke Street. The existing 11 Hewlett Road is the end terraced house immediately to the left of the entrance to Berkeley Garage, adjoining Berkeley Lodge. Could this have been the Hewlett Inn? I made unsubstantiated notes several years ago that suggested that the site of the Hewlett Inn was in the vicinity of Sidney Lodge apartments that have been built on the site of the demolished Esso Service station.
The Hewlett Inn was licensed as a beer house, with a fixed annual rateable value of £21.5s.0d spanning the twelve years from 1891 to 1903. The Hewlett is listed as being free from brewery tie in 1891 but tied to Henry Dredge in 1903. Henry Dredge was also the landlord of the Beehive in Montpellier Villas in 1891, He is also recorded as being the owner of the Crown Inn in Upper Park Street (now the Cheltenham Motor Club) and the Wellington Inn (Queens Buildings) in Bath Road in 1903. The Beehive in Montpellier Villas once brewed beer on the premises and traded as the Beehive Brewery. Records show that the brewery was operated by William Carter in 1859. Did Henry Dredge then acquire the Beehive Brewery?
Mrs Pardoe was the owner of the Hewlett Inn in 1891 and 1903. For those interested in pub history the name Mrs Pardoe might be familiar. Pubs brewing their own beer were common place in the mid-19th Century but by the advent of the Edwardian era most ‘home brew’ pubs had been acquired by family brewers adding to their tied estates. The remaining pubs producing their ‘home brew’d’ ales steadily decreased throughout the 20th century until in the 1970’s when there were only four brew pubs left in the entire United Kingdom. One celebrated survivor was the Olde Swan in Netherton in the heart of the Black Country where Doris Pardoe kept the home brewing tradition going against all the odds. The Olde Swan continues to produce its excellent ‘home brew’d’ ales to this day and although Mrs Pardoe is no longer with her name lives on as most people affectionally call the pub ‘Mrs Pardoes’.
The license of the Hewlett Inn was refused in 1929. It was referred to the Compensation Authority in February 1930.
Landlords at the Hewlett Inn include:
1870 William Mills
1870 John Witcomb
1891,1903 Thomas Peart
