Royal William, Cheltenham Road, Cranham nr Painswick (A46) GL6 6TT

May 2009

Gloucester Journal. August 1885: The annual feast of the Cranham Friendly Society was held on Monday last. The members met at their club room at the Royal William Inn, at 10 o’clock and headed by the Sheepscombe Brass Band marched through the village to the church where they attended divine service. Returning from the church, members sat down to dinner at the Royal William.

There was once a small brewery at the Royal William. It was established by a Mr William Sadler-Hall at the end of the eighteenth century and was known as the Cranham Brewery. The business was acquired by Godsell & Sons of Salmon Springs in August 1904 for £13,800. The purchase included seven tied houses; the Royal William in Cranham, the Cross Hands in Brockworth and five pubs in Cheltenham (Apple Tree Inn, Russell Street; Crown & Cushion, Bath Road; Five Alls, Bath Road; Gladstone Arms, Sherborne Street and the Sandford Inn in Sandford Street). The Cranham Brewery closed upon takeover. It is believed that the brewery was situated opposite the pub on the site of the present day car park. I have never seen any items relating to Sadler-Hall’s Cranham Brewery. Are there any embossed beer bottles or stone jars in existence?

Image courtesy Phil Sampson (Facebook)

Courtesy Nick Warner

In 1974 Whitbread published a book called ‘Inn and around’, a guide to 250 favourite Whitbread pubs. At that time the Royal William was a ‘Trophy Tavern’.