Oxbode Lane, a street of brick built terraced houses, ran from Northgate Street to Kings Street. The Oxbody Inn was an end of terrace pub a few yards from Northgate Street.
William Mullany, the landlord in the 1870’s, was an ex-sergeant of the 83rd foot – now the Royal Ulster Rifles. The Irishman was listed as being six feet and three quarters tall.
Gloucestershire Chronicle. March 19th 1870: Henry Glasby, labourer, was charged with being drunk and disorderly. At five o’clock on Tuesday afternoon a policeman was called to the Oxbody Inn on the account of the violent conduct of the prisoner and two other men who were with him. When Glasby left he went to the Dolphin Inn and there began another disturbance and was then arrested. He had been several times convicted and was now sentenced to fourteen days hard labour.
Gloucester Journal: February 18th, 1882: A meeting of the creditors of Charles Turk, of the Oxebody Inn, Gloucester, was held at the offices of Mr. A.C. Champney, solicitor. The claims of the creditors represented amounted to £247.11s.11d., and the unsecured creditors £433 A resolution was adopted of accepting a composition of one shilling in the pound.
The Oxbody Inn once brewed its own beer for consumption in the premises. It is recorded that G Cummings provided materials for Home Brewed Beer, but brewing must have ceased by 1893 when Godsell’s Brewery of Stroud were owners of the Oxbody Inn. Godsell’s also owned the nearby Oddfellows Arms. George William Godsell is listed as landlord of the Oxbody Inn in 1902 and 1919 Kelly’s Directories, but whether or not he was related to the brewery Godsell family has not been researched.
The area was redeveloped in 1928 – the same year that Godsell’s was taken over by the Stroud Brewery Company. Bon Marche store was built on the site of Oxbody Lane and the Oxbody Inn and Oddfellows Arms were demolished to facilitate the new development. In subsequent years the area was dominated by Debenhams store which sadly closed recently.
At the time of writing (March 2022) the site is being redeveloped by the University of Gloucestershire which will transform the old Debenhams Store into an educational centre of excellence.
Landlords at the Oxbody Inn include:
1830 Thomas Taylor (Oxbody, Mitre Street)
1856 J. Truman
1869 J. Loveridge
1870 Henry Charles Cowles
1872-1879 William Mullany (died in 1879)
1879 C. Turk (Oxbody, Mitre Street)
1885 George Cummings
1893 William Godsell (Oxebode Inn)
1902,1906,1919 George William Godsell
1927 A.J. Pugh
