The Cheltenham Original Brewery were the owners of the Leckhampton Inn in 1891. It was a licensed ale house with an annual rateable value of £23.15s.0d. By the time of the following licensing returns twelve years later in 1903 the annual rateable value had increased by six pounds to £29.15s.0d.
The ‘Echo’ reported in March 1997 that the pub was reputedly haunted. An old man with a dog was seen sitting at the bar with a dog. Andy Hobbs, landlord at the time, said: “I saw this old guy sitting at the bar with his dog. When I said ‘afternoon, what can I get you?’ he just blanked me. When I looked up, they’d gone”.
The pub also had an unusual visitor in May 1998. Andy came face to face with a Dalek, Dr Who’s arch-enemy, at the bar. The dalek, on a charity raising mission, had to be assisted into the Leckhampton Inn. Barman Keith Hobbs told the ‘Echo’: “We had to take his wheels off and take off one of our doors off is hinges to get him in.” How selfish – the dalek could have saved Andy and Keith the trouble by using its lasers!
The Leckhampton Inn was once the venue of the Cheltenham Folk Club and some well known folk artists performed there including Martin Carthy and Kate Rusby.
The Leckhampton Inn was a ‘gay’ pub in its latter years. Despite being refurbished in the spring of 1999 it closed less than a year later in April 2001. The West Country Ales Plaque was stolen soon after closure. The Leckhampton Inn was still standing, boarded up and in a derelict state, in September 2004.
The pub has now been demolished and residential flats occupy the site.
Landlords at the Leckhampton Inn include:
1856 E. Cretchley
1870,1891 John Smith
1902,1906 Charles Thomas Arundell
1919 Charles Bernard Hawkins
1926,1939 Henry John Higgins
1997 Andy Hobbs
