The original Royal Oak was a stone built pub with tiled roof and with a rendered front with two small bay windows with a central entrance. In the 1920’s it even boasted its own bowling green. In 1957 the house next door, Sunnybank, was purchased by the Stroud Brewery and the licence was transferred. The Stroud Brewery built a large annex onto the house and the original Royal Oak was demolished to make room for a car park. The ownership passed to West Country Breweries in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, and then to Whitbread. It was then acquired by the Laurel Pub Company. In July 2004 Greene King of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, became the owners of Laurel Pubs. In 2006 the Royal Oak was crowned Greene King Catering Pub of the Year.
Gloucester Journal, 16th August 1845 – Child Murder at Hucclecote: On Wednesday week at Hucclecote John Cook, a labourer observed a bundle in a pool of water near the roadside, at Hucclecote, opposite the Royal Oak Inn, between two and three miles from Gloucester. He drew the bundle out, and, on inspecting it, found its contents to be the body of a female infant. It appeared to have been in the water several days and was tied up in what seemed to be an old apron, the string of which was tied round the neck of the ill-fated child. Cook acquainted his master, the landlord of the inn, of the melancholy discovery he had made, and the body was taken into the Royal Oak, to await an inquest, which was subsequently held upon it before John Cooke, Esq. coroner. At that inquest, Ambrose Dawson Cookson, Esq. surgeon, of this city, stated that he had made a post mortem examination of the body, which was that of a female infant, about a week old that externally there was the mark of a ligature round the neck ; that internally there was food in the stomach, (some gruel,) and other satisfactory indications that the child had been born alive; that there was congestion of the lungs and of the brain, which had been caused by strangulation; and that the child had been so strangled and killed before its body was thrown into the water. The policemen and others had made diligent inquiries in the neighbourhood with the view of discovering the mother of the child and the perpetrator of its cruel death, but without effect; and the jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown.
The above research and information courtesy Dr Martyn Beaufort.
Gloucester Journal, December 22nd 1883: A man named William Bannister, of Barnwood, was in the act of harnessing a horse, belonging to Mr Organ, of the Oak Inn, Hucclecote, when the animal kicked him in the mouth. He was knocked against a wall and rendered insensible. He was conveyed to the Infirmary.
Gloucester Journal, June 1889: On Saturday at the New Inn Hotel, Gloucester, Mr H. Villar sold, for Mr G. Hone, instructed by Messrs Brookes and Badham, Tewkesbury, several freehold properties. The Royal Oak Inn, Hucclecote, was sold to Mr. Boughton for £660.
During Easter Saturday afternoon, April 4th, 1942, enemy bombers demolished two houses on the Hucclecote Road. During the raids seven people died, and two of them were young children. Several buildings later had to be demolished because they were regarded as being unsafe. The German bomb fell just a few yards from the Royal Oak, on the Barnwood side of the Hucclecote Road.
The Citizen: Tuesday, November 29th 1988: Wine run team raise £2,000 – A City licensee and three of his regulars have raised £2,000 for the disabled in Gloucester, thanks to completing in a Beaujolais Run. Darren Moore, licensee of the Royal Oak, a Whitbread Severn Inns pub in Hucclecote Road, and regulars Mark Blanchfield, Paul Blanchfield and Brian Hibbert, went on the run. They claim to have been one of the first – if not the first – back to Gloucester. It is hoped that when all the money is in £2,000 will have been raised. It will go towards maintaining the Royal Oak’s bus, which is used by many organisations to provide outings for disabled children. Said Darren: “It was certainly an exhausting experience, but nevertheless enjoyable. We were determined to be one of the first back, but we had to overcome many obstacles, such as thick fog in France, and of course, the ferry strike. This year’s Beaujolais Run was the ninth completed by the Royal Oak. The previous eight were organised by former licensee Mike Blanchfield, who died earlier this year.
Map Reference: SO 867176
https://www.hungryhorse.co.uk/pubs/gloucestershire/royal-oak
Licensing Details:
Type of licence in 1891: Alehouse
Owner in 1891: Joshua White (free from brewery tie)
Rateable Value in 1903: £51.0s.0d.
Type of licence in 1903: Alehouse
Owner in 1903: Godsell & Sons, Salmon Springs Brewery, Stroud
Closing time in 1903: 10pm
Owner in 2006: Greene King
Landlords at the Royal Oak include:
1856 E.J. Smith
1871 Joshua White (was at Cross Hands, Brockworth in 1881)
1885 Robert Boon
1891 Joshua White (presumably back at the Royal Oak after a period at the Cross Hands, Brockworth)
1897 Mrs Emily White
1902 William Long
1903,1906 Miles Lane
1919,1939 Frank Edward Nix
1957 J.R. Hopkins
1986,1987 Michael & Anne Blanchfield (retired in December 1987. They were presented with the Whitbread Community Care award for their fund-raising work, in particular for arranging trips for disabled children.
1988 Darren Moore
1998 Chris and Heather McDermott
2001 (May),2003 Mel Prentice
2005 (Jan) Peter and Diane Fryar