News / Pubs
Historic pub to be reopened by new owners
A pub with a unique interior and some of the oldest bar fittings in the UK is reopening soon under new owners.
The Kings Head on Victoria Street has a bar-back dating to around 1865 with a series of arches and gilded glass panels advertising various drinks including Jamaica rum, London gin and mineral waters.
The rear half of the pub also contains a seating area known as the ‘tramcar bar’ – a snug shaped like an old tram carriage.
is needed now More than ever
The new custodians of this historic hostelry in the shadow of Temple Church spire are Kelly Sidgwick and Bob Cary, who are planning to reopen the Kings Head’s doors in November.
Kelly and Bob are the co-founders of St Philip’s brewery Good Chemistry, with their only other pub The Good Measure on Chandos Road in Redland.
Kelly Sidgwick and Bob Cary are planning to reopen the Kings Head in November
The Kings Head, which has been shut since the beginning of the pandemic, is the only Bristol pub recognised as being of national importance in Camra’s Heritage Listed Interiors.
It consists of a narrow one-room bar within a mid-17th-century building, with accommodation on the upper floors and a cellar which runs the length of the pub.
Other old fittings include a gas pressure gauge that enabled the landlord in days gone by to adjust the pressure within the pub to accommodate fluctuations in the supply such as when the street lights outside were turned on.
There is also a gas-lit cigar or pipe lighter on top of a bench-back in the tramcar bar.
A glass panel advertising ‘Burton ales and Dublin stout’ is signed below by Fred Brean of Bedminster and dated 1860
Like they do at The Good Measure, Kelly and Bob will offer cask and keg beer from local and national breweries at the Kings Head, as well as including permanent Good Chemistry beers alongside spirits, wines and non-alcoholic drinks.
“Pubs provide a meeting point for communities, where people from different age groups and backgrounds can enjoy a shared space,” said Bob.
“At a time when many people have never felt more isolated, and haven’t been able to socialise in the ways they were used to, we want the revitalised Kings Head to offer that space once again.
“We can’t wait to bring beers from some of our favourite breweries to the cosy surroundings of this wonderful pub.
“Like so many valued and sometimes under-appreciated pubs, the Kings Head has been a place for Bristol people to get together for hundreds of years and we are so pleased to be able to carry on that tradition.”
The Kings Head occupies a mid-17th-century building on what is now Victoria Street
The pub backs onto Temple Gardens
All photos: Martin Booth
Read next:
- Shock as Pret prepares to open in former pub
- A new vision for Victoria Street
- Pub of the Week: The King’s Head
- These are the Bristol winners in the Observer Food Monthly Awards 2022
- Debunking beliefs about brewing, beer and women
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
