In the 1891 licensing book the premises is listed without having a name, but in 1903 it was referred to as the Royal Oak . The Wickwar Brewery (Arnold, Perrett & Co. Ltd.) were the owners. The Royal Oak had the status of a beer house but sales Wickwar Gold Medal Ales were limited to ‘jug and bottle’ and consumption was not permitted inside. The annual rateable value of the premises in 1891 and 1903 was £14.0s.0d. and closing time was at 10 pm.
Cheltenham Original Brewery acquired the Oak Inn in 1937. The sale particulars of that year specified that a water pump on the premises had to be made available for public use during daylight hours. In September 1939 Thomas Reid, licensee Royal Oak, was fined ten shillings on three counts of permitting liquor to be consumed on the premises and drinking it on common land. Hitherto it had been common practice for customers to stand just outside the door to enjoy their drinks.
Dean Forest Mercury: Friday, 4th August 1972 – The Oak Inn or the Royal Oak Inn, The Pludds? Licensing justices at Littledean on Thursday had this to ponder. But they didn’t quibble. Mr Mark Ovington (Gloucester) applied for the transfer of the Royal Oak (or is it the Oak?) from Mrs Winifred Jones to Mrs Eileen Gardiner.
Mr Ovington seemed a little unsure about the correct title for the public house and Mrs Jones said she had been at the inn for 33 years and it had been The Oak when she took over, but the brewery put up a sign saying The Royal Oak. “It’s always been called The Oak by local people,” she added.
The licensing justices granted the application for the Royal Oak! Officially the name is the Royal Oak.
Landlords / Keepers of the Royal Oak include:
1891 George Meek
1903 William Henry Jones
1939 Thomas Reid
1972 Mrs Winifred Jones
1972 Mrs Eileen Gardiner
