The New Inn, 16 Northgate Street,
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, England, is a
timber framed building used as a
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 ...
, hotel and restaurant. It is the most complete surviving example of a medieval courtyard inn with galleries in Britain, and is a Grade I
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 ...
.
The announcement of
Lady Jane Grey's succession to the English throne was made from the Inn gallery in 1553.
[Later Tudors 1547 - 1603.](_blank)
infobritain.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
This is Gloucestershire, 23 June 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
History
The Inn was built in 1450 by John Twyning, a monk, as a hostelry for the former Benedictine Abbey of St Peter. It is on the site of an earlier inn. After the dissolution of St Peter's the inn passed to the Dean and Chapter of
Gloucester Cathedral and was leased to various inn holders until it was sold in 1858. Stories that the inn was built to provide lodgings for pilgrims to the tomb of King Edward II were first recorded in the eighteenth century and may be incorrect.
[
In 1553, ]King Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
died and Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen from the first floor gallery by the Abbot of Gloucester.[
It is thought that ]William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
may have performed at the Inn with his company The Lord Chamberlain's Men as it is known that the company did visit and perform in the city.[ Inns were often used for theatrical performances in England (]Inn-yard theatre
In the historical era of English Renaissance drama, an Inn-yard theatre or Inn-theatre was a common inn with an inner courtyard with balconies that provided a venue for the presentation of stage plays.
Beginnings
The Elizabethan era is appropri ...
) and Spain (Corral de comedias
''Corral de comedias'', literally a "theatrical courtyard", is a type of open-air theatre specific to Spain. In Spanish all secular plays were called ''comedias'', which embraced three genres: tragedy, drama, and comedy itself. During the Spani ...
).
At 1am on the 7 May 2018, a fire had started at the rear of the Inn which spread to several bedrooms on the second floor, the roof and the bar area and had expanded by 5.50am. Soon afterwards twelve fire engines throughout Gloucestershire had arrived to save the building with Police and Ambulances, It is believed nobody was injured in it.
Architecture
The timber frame of the large three- storey rectangular building is of oak with lathe and plaster rendered panels. Open 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 ...
galleries look over the courtyard and form the entry to chambers on the upper floors. The west front in Northgate street forms seven bays, some of which are now used as separate shops, was altered in 1924.[
The Inn is entered through a carriage way from Northgate Street, and is the most complete surviving example of a medieval courtyard inn with galleries in Britain.][
Close to the entrance to the Inn in Northgate Street lies ''New Inn Lane'', which runs parallel to Eastgate Street and The Oxbode. Reportedly, it was originally called ''Pilgrims Lane''.
]
Today
Today the Inn is a restaurant, pub and 36 bedroomed hotel. There is also a coffee shop and two function rooms.
The Inn is supposedly haunted with one unexplained event captured on CCTV in 2010.'Ghost' at Gloucester pub 'pushes pint off table'.
BBC Gloucestershire, 27 May 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
References
Further reading
*"Medieval Inns" by E.M. Jope in ''Studies in Building History'', 1961, pp. 166–191.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Inn, Gloucester
New Inn
New Inn - ( cy, Y Dafarn Newydd) - is a village and community directly south east of Pontypool, within the County Borough of Torfaen in Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It had a population of 5,986 at the 2011 Census.
L ...
Buildings and structures completed in 1455
History of Gloucester
Reportedly haunted locations in South West England
Timber framed buildings in England
Pubs in Gloucester
Hotels in Gloucestershire