14 Lower Westgate Street. The Royal Oak stood opposite St Bartholomew’s Almshouses.

In 1906 the Royal Oak was tied to Arnold Perrett & Co. Ltd., Wickwar Brewery. The ‘Citizen’ reported on 12th May 1906 that it had ‘two public rooms with a clubroom at the back. There was no stable and there were four other licensed premises within 100 yards which were all better that the Royal Oak’. It was recommended that the Royal Oak be referred to the compensation authority for closure’.


Buried treasure was discovered by a group of builders working on the site of the Royal Oak in 1952. One of the builders found a single old coin under the quarry tiled floor of what was once the inn’s stable yard. Intrigued, he and his workmates investigated further and discovered a hoard of 140 more.

The earliest of the gold and silver coins was a shilling bearing the head of King Edward VI who was on the throne from 1550 to 1553. Others were dated up to 1660, the final year of England’s status as a republic under Oliver Cromwell.


The Royal Oak has been immortalised in the name of the main A417 road in the area – Royal Oak Road.


Landlords at the Royal Oak include:

1830 Henry Wright

1856 J. Dowdeswell

1859 John Browett

1879,1885 James Gorin

1902 Charles H. Page

1906 George D. Bell

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