The Grotto became an inn about 1819. It was named after a famous grotto that existed on the site in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
The Cheltenham Guide of 1816 describes it thus: ‘ The Grotto is decorated with shells and fossils which are very tastefully arranged, the windows are in Gothic style and ornamented with painted glass; the floor is tesselated and the walls adorned with convex mirrors. At the top of the garden is a Chinese temple erected on a raised terrace and surrounded by a covered balcony which is generally used as a tea room. On the right is a stone tower with two good octagonal rooms from which is a prospect of the whole village.’
In 1856 a brewery was an additional attraction supplying home brewed ales to the Grotto. Some three years later in 1859 it was bought by the owner of the adjacent Prestbury House because it had ‘become a place of ill repute and was especially noisy at weekends.’ It had closed down by 1891. Nothing remains of the Grotto today.
Landlord:
1856 W. Midwinter – listed as a brewer in 1856
