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

pub 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 was ...

in Bristol, England. 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 ...

, it is part of the Old Market Conservation area. Its exterior ornamentation includes two hermai 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 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 a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...

'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. 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 its headquarters. It ama ...

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, 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, ...

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 1 ...

venue, trading as 'The Gin Palace'. And an American named Sean Epperly worked on the building from start to finish under Thomas Brooman’s ownership.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures completed in 1869 Grade II listed pubs in Bristol 1869 establishments in England Pubs in Gloucestershire