The 1885 Kellys Directory gives the address of the Shakespeare as 49 Northgate Street. This was also the address in 1856 when Mrs Mastricht was serving beer in a brand new pub. The Shakespeare was located on the eastern side of Northgate Street, a few yards to the north of the Northgate Vaults.
The earliest reference to Shakespeare Inn is in 1820 but it had been rebuilt by 1856. It was valued at £2,222 in 1900 . At that time it was owned by the Stroud Brewery Company. A photograph of the pub before it was enlarged shows a simple brick building with ‘Stroud Brewery Co’s celebrated Ales & Stout’ painted on a board fixed between the first and second floor windows. On the ground floor there is a wooden facade with the words ‘The Shakespeare’ and the number 49 painted across the top of the pub front.
The address of the pub was 96 Northgate Street in a 1957 reference – two years before it closed. In its last years as a pub it is believed that the Shakespeare had been acquired by Mitchell & Butlers of Birmingham. Allied Carpets were trading from 92-96 Northgate Street in 1974. The Shakespeare Inn was demolished and the site of the pub is now occupied by a discount store.
Landlords at the Shakespeare include:
1830 William Smith
1856 Mrs C. Mastricht
1879 Charles Watkins
1885 Harry Passmore
1893 Mrs F.M. Davis
1902 Phineas Bradley
1906 Harry Albert Davis
1919 James Etheridge
1936,1939 Ernest Mullins
1957 Mrs Edith F. Mullins
