The Park End Hotel was built by Mitchells & Butlers of Cape Hill, Birmingham.
The Gloucester Bowling Club was established here in 1897. There was once a bowling green adjacent to the Park End Hotel. The Gloucester Bowling Club disbanded in their centenary year – 1997 – and was placed in ‘suspended animation’.
Gloucester Journal, April 1881: Mr Poulton, landlord of the Park End Hotel, left his pony and trap outside Mr Bartlett’s hairdresser’s Brunswick Road, whilst he went inside, his son being seated in the trap. His astonishment can be imagined when the pony, which had been standing quietly outside the shop window, suddenly dropped down dead. Fortunately Mr Poulton’s son was unhurt.
The Citizen: Wednesday, January 16th 1974 – Family escape in fire: Thirty inches separated a Gloucester family from disaster when fire damaged the Parkend Hotel, where a £70,000 renovation scheme is nearing completion. The flames were that close to the gas meter when landlord Harold Joyce discovered the fire at 6 am today. Had Mr Joyce not been an early riser, the hotel could have been set ablaze with himself, his wife Diane and daughter Lynne (16) trapped on the first floor. A senior city fire officer said, “Had the flames reached the meter, they could have melted the joints and the fire would have become very much fiercer.” The hotel will probably be closed for two days because of the damage. Plastic pipes feeding beer to the pumps were melted and the heat has ruined beer in the cellar. The new Victoria lounge, which would probably have been opened tomorrow, is badly smoke damaged, as is the rest of the ground floor. The living quarters have also been affected by smoke. The building has been decorated throughout. Mr Joyce said, “Much of the work will have to be done again.”
Fireman are investigating the theory that the fire was started by a discarded cigarette end, which rolled beneath a mat inside the main entrance. The fire started in that area and burned through floorboards into the cellar. Mr Joyce, once a fireman, said: “I think it likely that the cigarette end got into the mat well and the flames were fanned by wind coming under the door.”
Landlord Harold Joyce fractured his skull when he fell down the cellar stairs of the Parkend Hotel on August 10th 1980. He was in a coma for a number of days but had made a recovery by the end of the month.
Advertisement: Citizen, May 1985: New Look at The Park End. The Park End, one of Gloucester’s best known public houses, is re-opening after extensive alterations and a complete refurbishment. It has held a special place in the hearts of Gloucester pub-goers for a hundred years and has seen many changes in that time. When it was owned by Mitchell & Butler, the Park End was the headquarters of Gloucester Bowling Club and boasted superb bowling green facilities.
The present owners, Bass, have re-introduced the bowling theme in the new bar area, with many items of memorabilia. Care has been taken to retain the darts and shove ha’penny areas in the new bar, which now leads into a garden room. This area, with access to the landscaped rear, together with a separate toilet, is ideal for parents and children – an important consideration these days.
The attractive lounge room has been carefully refurbished to retain the Victorian theme, with a new fireplace and many separate interesting dining areas. Bass sales manager Ray Huxstable said: “Our main wish was to open up the interior of the Park End, and remove the image it had of being virtually two separate pubs. You can now walk through all the rooms and enjoy the various different themes.”
The introduction of draught Bass and Tennants Pilsner lager alongside the recognised quality Bass products will no doubt strengthen the popularity which the Park End already enjoys. Licensee Chris Hedderman and his wife Lena came to the Park End from Swindon 15 months ago and are very excited about their new pub. Lena has lots of ideas about the food she intends to serve. “Call me old-fashioned,” she says, “but I think there is a big call for basic foods like steak, chicken, fish etc. The country is full of places serving chilli con carne one day, that miraculously turns into spaghetti bolognaise the next.” Chris agrees wholeheartedly, and, without doubt, twelve years of Lena’s good English cooking has certainly not done him any harm.
The Citizen, 12th December, 2011 – Fire engines called to derelict city pub: Fire crews raced to a derelict pub after members of the public alerted them to a fire. Appliances from Gloucester and Stroud arrived to find smoke was billowing through the gutted Park End pub. But builders at the site they were just burning rubbish in a bin at the back of the building. Three appliances were sent to the scene with 14 firefighters after the service received numerous calls. They could see smoke coming from the upstairs windows and were told a workman was inside. They used one hose reel and two breathing apparatus to extinguish a small fire. No one was injured.
Planning permission to turn the pub in Park End Road, Gloucester, into flats was awarded in 2009.
Landlords at the Park End Hotel include:
1891 Mr Poulton
1893 H. Brookes
1906 Henry Brooks
1919 Harry Brookes
1927 William Bradbury (manager)
1936,1939 Matthew Bissell
1957 Valentine Johnson
1980 Harold Joyce
1985 Chris and Lena Hedderman
1997 Matt Toft
1998,1999 Amanda Hillman-Alexander
2000 Maureen Ball
