Hi Geoff,
I was aware of the beerhouse, just marked B.H. with no pub name on the 1855-7 Old Town Survey map in the Royal Oak courtyard. A pub called the Yew Tree was also listed in the 1857 Harper’s Directory in New Street with no number given. I also found under “Beer Retailers” in the 1850 – 1852 Edwards Directories a “Hampton W. 18 New Street.” I knew that the Crispin Inn / Gloucester House was at 11 and the Knapp Inn / Porter Store was at 42, so using old maps and directories, I worked out that this “beer retailer” would have been where the Royal Oak courtyard was, but at first I just thought of it as “the Royal Oak Tap.” All of which would have put the Yew Tree in what is now Royal Oak Mews.
Furthermore, in the 1912 Annuaire and 1913 – 1915 Looker-On Directories, I found an apparently short-lived (or not otherwise recorded) brewery called the Albion Brewery at 16 New Street – just 2 doors further west than the 1850s beer retailer, which I think would have put the brewery on the edge of the Royal Oak courtyard approximately on the west side of Royal Oak Mews now.
I suspect that the Albion Brewery (Cheltenham’s 3rd with this name, after the one on the junction of Gloucester Road and Market Street, and the Albion Steam Brewery in Albion Street) may well have been where the Royal Oak had a brewhouse to make beer for its tap house, the Yew Tree.
Additionally in the 1912 Annuaire no. 10 and no. 11 New Street (where the Crispin Inn / Gloucester House used to be) was listed as the Albion Brewery Stores.
The New Street listing in the 1912 Annuaire runs:
“9 Mr. G.F. Tyler
10 & 11 Albion Brewery Stores
12 Mrs. Lynch
13 & 16 Mr. R. Guppy
14 Mr. Jones
15 Mr. Holliday
Albion Brewery – Mr. T. Jenkins”
The 1913 Looker-On is a little less organised and complete, and runs:
“8 Mr. P. Leeson
Albion Brewery – Mr. T. Jenkins
12 Mrs. Lynch
13 & 16 Mr. R. Guppy
17 Mr. A.E. Godwin”
The 1914 Looker-On is the same, except Mr. J.H. Williams name is against the Albion Brewery
The 1915 Looker-On listing actually puts the Albion Brewery in Ambrose Street, the listing for which runs:
“14 C. Bailey & Sons
15 Mrs. M.A. Brown
Ambrose House – Mr. S. J. Norris
Ambrose Brewery – Mr. J. A. Connelly
….cross over here….
St. George’s Square here [now the bowling green]
Railway Hotel [now the Bottle of Sauce] Mr. H. Preece”
Their New Street listing runs:
“8 Mr. P. Leeson
9. Mr. G. Whiting
10. Mr. J.H. Williams (formerly listed as Albion Brewery Stores – see above and J.H. Williams name against Albion Brewery)
12. Mrs. Lynch
13 & 16 Mr. R. Guppy
15 Mr. J. Reynolds
18 Mr. S. Broom”
The 1916 Looker-On listing for New Street runs as in 1915, still with Mr. J.A. Connelly (but listed at no. 17 – no mention of the Albion Brewery!) I assume it had gone by then.
So it seems to have moved from New Street to Ambrose Street, lost its stores for the re-opening or re-founding of the Crispin Inn, and only lasted for a year in Ambrose Street (maybe partly due to WWI – I don’t know)
“8 Mr. F. Leeson
9 Mr. G. Whiting
10 Crispin Inn (again) Mr. F. Webb
12 Mrs. New
13 Mr. R. Guppy
15 Mr. J. Reynolds
16 Mr. A. Hulin
17 Mr. G. Hawker
18 Mr. S. Broom”
Their Ambrose Street listing
Hope this is useful
Alan Jones
