In 1891 the Railway was owned by Alfred Wintle. Although not strictly a brewery Alfred supplied a few pubs with malt from his corn mill in Bill Mills near Weston under Penyard near Ross on Wye. In the process Alfred bought a few pubs which eventually passed into the ownership of Thomas Wintle who started brewing in Mitcheldean in 1869. With an annual rateable value of £25.10s.0d. the Railway was licensed as an ale house. It closed at 10 pm.

The Railway Inn was put up for sale in 1923 as part of the entire Forest Brewery property estate. It was described as being ‘situate about two miles from the brewery and occupying a commanding position at the junction of four cross-roads.’ The building was stone built and rough cast with a slate roof and comprised a bar, tap room, smoke room, sitting room, kitchen and beer store on the ground floor. There were four bedrooms on the first floor and the outside consisted of a yard, pot house, coach-house, two –stall stable, pig cot, coal shed, two W.C’s and a strip of flower garden. There were two cottages adjoining the Railway inn which were sub-let by the tenant at inclusive rents of £18.4s.0d. per annum. A later description noted that the Railway Inn was a gaunt unadorned building of grey, unpainted roughcast with a short-back-and-sides slate roof.’

In 1993 John Christian wrote to the ‘Forester’ newspaper with memories of the Railway Inn. He wrote:

“The Railway Inn was the institution that put Dunk’s on the map. A jolly inn where you could get a pint or a black eye as easily as the other. Gloucester Cider was called ‘Stunem’ and it was lethal. The main reason was it was casked in old wine or brandy kegs which added to its ‘kick.”

Intriguingly the area is known locally as ‘Dunk’s corner’, or Dunkley’s Corner. This must be a reference to the landlord of the pub in late Victorian times – Albert Dunkley.

The Railway Inn, which was on the western side of the Nailbridge road junction, was demolished to make way for road widening and the site of the pub is now just a grassy bank.

Landlords at the Railway Inn include:

1885 Aaron Meek

1891,1902 Albert W.P. Dunkley.

1903 Sarah J. Dunkley

1906 Mrs Albert Dunkley

1913, 1927 Richard Reed (previously at the Barleycorn Inn, Cinderford)

1939 Albert L. Hughes

Share this Page: