Palace Hotel, Bristol
| Palace Hotel | |
|---|---|
| File:Palace Hotel Bristol.jpg | |
 Location within Bristol
|
|
| General information | |
| Town or city | Bristol |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Completed | c 1860 |
The Palace Hotel (also known as The Gin Palace") is a historic public house situated on West Street, Old Market, Bristol. It is a grade II listed building.[1] Its exterior ornamentation includes two Assyrian-style hermai.[2]
History
The Palace Hotel was built in 1869 for the wine and spirits merchant, John Sharp.[3] At that time it was thought that a new Great Western Railway main station was going to be established nearby. For that reason it was to have been called the Railway Hotel[4] – but Brunel's great Temple Meads Station was built half a mile south, so trade was less than expected.[5] A smaller Midland Railway terminus, St Philip's Station, was opened nearby but this was closed in 1953 and subsequently demolished.
The bar has a sloping floor.[6]
In 2000 Thomas Brooman CBE, co-founder and managing director of WOMAD (World of Music and Dance), took charge of the Palace.[7] He spent much time and money bringing the place up to the high standard for which it is worthy but after 5 years decided it was time to move on. The Palace finally closed its doors in mid-2005 and was sold. The following year the new owner submitted a planning application to change its use to an estate agent's office. In August 2008, further applications were pending, with vigorous counter moves to restore it to a pub. In November 2008 it was announced that the owners of the Bristol Bear Bar across the road had bought the lease and, following a period of decoration in which maintenance of the pub's original features was a priority,[8] it is now up and running as a pub. It became known as a gay venue.[6][9]
References
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