The Old Pubs of Chester Gallery

A Virtual Stroll Around the Walls of Chester

The Vanished Pubs of Chester Gallery

The site on the south side of Eastgate Street was originally occupied by The Golden Talbot, advertised in the long-defunct Adam's Weekly Courant of 17th September 1751 as "that ancient and well-accustomed inn which is now fitted up in the neatest manner and held by Thomas Hickman (late agent to the Hon. Colonel Lee deceas'd) where all gentlemen, ladies and others who shall be pleased to make use of the said house may depend on the best accomodations and most civil usage".
The old Talbot was demolished and on its site rose the Royal Hotel which was built in 1784 by John Crewe, who, together with a Mr Barnston stood for Parliament as Whigs against Thomas Grosvenor and Richard Wilbraham Bootle who, as Tories, supported William Pitt. The two seats had been Grosvenor family 'perks' for decades, and the city council were hand-in-glove with them. After ten days of campaigning, the parties were neck-and-neck, until money won the day- Mr Crewe, described as being of 'only moderate fortune,' spent £10,000 on bribes, but the Grosvenors spent £20,000 and the Tories were in.
The antagonism between the Grosvenors and city fathers on one hand and their opponents on the other went on for a further 30 years, but, despite rulings against them in the House of Lords, the Tory stranglehold over the city's affairs continued until the Reform Act of 1832.
The Royal Hotel was the opposition's social centre, with news and coffee rooms and an elegant assembly room for balls and concerts. Earl Grosvenor, however, had the last laugh. He bought the building and in 1863, had it totally demolished, and replaced by the much larger building we know today and named it after his family- The Grosvenor Hotel.

Chester's Vanished Pubs 1 | 2 | 3 | 4