The King William Ale House is a historic

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

situated on King Street in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It dates from 1670 and was originally part of a row of three houses. The three have been designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as a grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

since 8 January 1959. It includes a mixture of 17th-century and 18th-century features, but currently serves as a public house owned and operated by

Samuel Smith Old Brewery Samuel Smith Old Brewery, popularly known as Samuel Smith's or Sam Smith's, is an independent brewery and pub owner based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. It is Yorkshire's oldest brewery, founded in 1758, and one of three breweries in th ...

History

The King William Ale House stands as part of a group of three houses, which were built in approximately 1670; originally built as a refuge for poor women, the buildings were later converted into public houses. The three buildings were designated as a Grade II* listed building on 8 January 1959, and currently include two public houses, the ''King William Ale House'' as well as ''The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer'', with a restaurant between them. The building is

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

, with brick stacks; the front of the building is

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d with three

jettied Jettying (jetty, jutty, from Old French ''getee, jette'') is a building technique used in medieval timber-frame buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond the dimensions of the floor below. This has the advantage of increasing the avail ...

floors. It has a single-story wing to the back block on Little King Street, which also dates to the 17th century. The sash windows of the building are in an 18th-century style, but restored in the late 20th century. The King Street entrance includes an 18th-century shop front, with a 17th-century door frame.

Present usage

The King William Ale House is owned and operated by

Samuel Smith Brewery Samuel Smith Old Brewery, popularly known as Samuel Smith's or Sam Smith's, is an independent brewery and pub owner based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. It is Yorkshire's oldest brewery, founded in 1758, and one of three breweries in ...

. It has two entrances, one on King Street, the other on Little King Street. Inside there is a stone fireplace and a number of seating booths. The pub also has sufficient space for pool tables. The draught ales are kept in

keg A keg is a small barrel. Wooden kegs made by a cooper were used to transport nails, gunpowder, and a variety of liquids. A keg is normally now constructed of stainless steel, although aluminium can be used if it is coated with plastic on th ...

s rather than

cask A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...

References

{{Culture in Bristol Buildings and structures completed in 1670 Grade II* listed pubs in Bristol 1670 establishments in England