Whether you’re in Bristol for a day or a little longer, one of the many pleasures of exploring the city is its many and varied pubs. Here is a small selection of the historic pubs of Bristol: you are likely to find many more as you wander around!
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Historic Pubs Of Bristol
Why are there so many historic pubs in Bristol? The answer is connected with the city’s past, and can be traced back to the city’s history as an important port. Ale houses and coaching inns flourished along the busy trade routes, and the port was bustling with sailors leaving or joining their ships. Sailors, merchants and travellers needed places for rest, refreshment and entertainment.
This pub culture survives to this day, and you will find pubs in historic buildings, real ale establishments, and contemporary gastropubs. It is true that the number of pubs has diminished in recent years, but there are still enough to ensure a lengthy pub crawl.
All of the pubs on this list are in central Bristol, in and around the old city and Redcliffe. However you will find plenty of old pubs elsewhere. These include the Albion in Clifton, a former coaching inn, the quirky Steam Crane in Bedminster, and the waterside Pump House in Hotwells.
Which Is Bristol’s Oldest Pub?
There are several contenders for the title of Bristol’s oldest pub. However this accolade is usually awarded to the Hatchet Inn, with its distinctive 17th century architecture. Other possible claimants are the Llandoger Trow (see Treasure Island Trail below) and The Rummer, both also dating from the 1600s.
Hatchet Inn
The Hatchet Inn on Frogmore Street was first licensed in 1606. Built into a fifteenth-century farmhouse, it once served as a watering hole for woodcutters working in the nearby Leigh Woods. The inn is still housed in its original Tudor-style building and retains many historical features. It is rumoured that one of these is a layer of human skin beneath the paint on the front door!
This macabre detail highlights the Hatchet’s colourful history. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was renowned for its blood sports. There was a notorious rat pit at the rear of the building, and it was later a popular venue for bare-knuckle boxing, attracting some of the best known boxers of the day. The pub was a magnet for those who wanted to indulge in gambling on the outcomes of contests, whether human or animal. Famous (and infamous) visitors included Charles Dickens and the pirate Blackbeard.
Today’s visitors can enjoy a more sedate experience, with excellent food and drink. There is also an outdoor beer garden for warmer days.
The Rummer
Built by John Wood the Elder in 1742, The Rummer may not be quite as old as The Hatchet, but there has been a licensed premises on this site since 1241. Parts of its medieval cellar are still intact.
In later years it acted as the terminus for mail coaches arriving in Bristol from London, and over the centuries many notable figures have stayed here. Queen Elizabeth I was an early visitor, and poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge based themselves here.
The Rummer is located on the narrow All Saints Lane. Today it combines old and new, providing a historic spot for drinkers as well as a contemporary co-working space for freelance workers.
Treasure Island Trail
Robert Louis Stevenson set part of his classic story Treasure Island in Bristol and you can follow a Treasure Island Trail around the city. Each stop has an information board explaining its connection with the book and, as the story features sailors and pirates, it is perhaps not surprising that three pubs should appear on the trail!
Llandoger Trow
The Llandoger Trow is one of several historic pubs located on King Street, a 17th century road leading down to the harbour. It was built by a Captain Hawkins in 1664 and occupies a row of half-timbered houses with their original gables. It has had a varied history, having been used as a gunsmiths, tobacconist and grocer’s shop as well as a public house.
It is thought that the Llandoger Trow was prototype of the Admiral Benbow Inn, the home of Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island. It is certainly the kind of place that Stevenson’s seafarers would have frequented. And there is another literary connection: Daniel Defoe is said to have met Alexander Selkirk here, providing the inspiration for his book Robinson Crusoe.
Following restoration, the pub reopened in 2021, and it is now one of the most popular pubs in Bristol, with an extensive drinks menu and live music (including – appropriately – sea shanty singing).
The Hole In The Wall
The Hole in the Wall, on The Grove near Queen Square, was built around 1700. It is steeped in maritime history and legend, its most distinctive feature being a small spyhole built into the wall. Some say that this was to keep a watch out for the notorious press gangs who roamed the city in search of drunken sailors who could be forcibly recruited to the Royal Navy. Alternatively it could have been to warn smugglers of the arrival of excisemen from the nearby Custom House.
This pub is believed to be the original of the Spyglass Inn in Treasure Island, the setting for the fateful meeting between Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver. Descriptions in the novel, such as its location near the docks and its snug atmosphere, match the pub as you see it today.
The smugglers and the drunken sailors are long gone, but you can still soak up the historic character of this family friendly gastropub.
The Ostrich
The harbourside Ostrich pub in Redcliffe dates back to at least 1745. It is built over the famous Redcliffe caves, formed in the Middle Ages by the extraction of sand for the local glassmaking industry. Historical evidence suggests that the tunnels were later used by smugglers. Bomb damage during the Second World War sealed off some of the caves but a section of one of them can now be glimpsed through a wall in the pub.
A combination of the caves, proximity to the docks, and the fact that Redcliffe was the birthplace of Blackbeard mean that the Ostrich is steeped in tales of piracy and seafaring adventure. Blackbeard is said to have plotted nefarious deeds here, and one of his crew members, Israel Hands, shares a name with a pirate in Treasure Island.
Today, the Ostrich boasts one of Bristol’s most popular pub gardens, offering stunning views of the harbour. It also serves excellent food, but if you want to eat inside you are recommended to book in advance.
Other Historic Pubs In Bristol
Seven Stars
The Seven Stars on Thomas Lane, tucked away on a cobbled street in Redcliffe, is a historic alehouse dating back to 1694. It played a pivotal role in confronting Bristol’s dark history of involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. In 1787 the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson set up an office here and collaborated with the pub’s landlord to gather firsthand accounts from sailors about the horrors of the slave ships. Clarkson’s reports became instrumental in exposing the atrocities of the trade to the British public and parliament.
His findings inspired William Wilberforce, who championed the eventual abolition of British involvement in slavery in 1833. The pub’s connection to the abolitionist movement is now commemorated by a plaque from the Bristol Radical History Group.
The Seven Stars boasts that in many ways it has hardly changed over the centuries (the pavement outside still has its original iron edges to stop damage from heavy carriages). It describes itself as a “beer museum”, an independent pub with a wide selection of cask ales, as well as traditional West Country ciders.
The Christmas Steps
The Christmas Steps pub is a historic pub in a historic area. It is located at the bottom of the Christmas Steps, a 17th century street that has preserved much of its original charm. Formerly known as the Three Sugar Loaves, the pub reflects the area’s history of sugar refining, with several refineries once thriving nearby.
The Christmas Steps occupies a cosy split-level 300-year-old building. It retains many of its early features, including narrow stairs, compact seating, and low-lit ambiance. The pub offers a choice of real ales and craft beers, and the food menu is based on local ingredients wherever possible.
Do you have a favourite historic pub in Bristol that is not on this list? Let me know in the comments below.
This article is now featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Bristol.
