The Palace Hotel (also known as "The Gin Palace") is a historic

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

in Bristol, England. A grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, it is part of the Old Market Conservation area. Its exterior ornamentation includes two

herma A herma (, plural ), commonly herm in English, is a sculpture with a head and perhaps a torso above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height. Hermae were so called either becaus ...

i in the Assyrian-style.

History

The Palace Hotel was built in 1869 for the wine and spirits merchant John Sharp. At that time it was thought that a new

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

main station was going to be established nearby. For that reason it was to be called the 'Railway Hotel', but

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

's Temple Meads station was built half a mile south, so trade was less than expected. A smaller

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

terminus station, Bristol St Philip's, opened nearby but was closed in 1953 and subsequently demolished. The bar has a sloping floor. In 2000

Thomas Brooman Thomas Brooman is a life-long music fan and a festival organiser. He is best known as the co-founder and artistic director of the WOMAD (World of Music Arts and Dance Festival. Early life Born in Bristol in 1954, he attended Bristol Grammar School ...

, co-founder and managing director of

World of Music, Arts and Dance WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

took charge of the Palace. He spent much time and money bringing the place up to the high standard for which it is worthy but after five years decided it was time to move on. The Palace 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, it is now up and running as a pub. It is currently (as of August 2017) operating as a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

venue, trading as 'The Gin Palace'. In March 2018 it closed it doors again, and hasn't opened since.

References

{{reflist Hotel buildings completed in 1869 Grade II listed pubs in Bristol 1869 establishments in England