Historic pubs given protected status amid closures

Eight historic pubs in Bristol have been given protected status after a number of closures across the city.

Nationally, almost 30 pubs are being closed every week.

Bristol City Council placed the pubs on the city's Local List of valued buildings to safeguard the city's cultural and architectural heritage. This year’s list focused on the contribution of public houses to the historic Bristol environment. Entries were nominated by members of the public.

Take a look at the list below:

• The Merchant’s Arms on Stapleton Road

• The George in Shirehampton

• Highbury Vaults on Cotham Hill

• Queen’s Head in Eastville

• The Avonmouth Tavern

• The Cambridge Arms on Coldharbour Road

• The Three Crowns on Blackswarth Road

• The Giant Goram in Lawrence Weston

Cllr Nicola Beech said, "Pub closures is an issue across Bristol. Pubs are an established feature of many communities and are often architecturally distinctive, or historically important in their own right. This year’s local list has focused on pubs as an at-risk building type and responds to many calls from the public to protect treasured local landmarks."

The Three Crowns, which closed suddenly in October and has been the focus for a community campaign to reopen it, has also been included in the list. The pub dates to the Reign of William IV.

Two buildings, which the council says represents some of the best of post-war development in the city, were also included. The Giant Goram pub built in Lawrence Weston in 1958, and the four quarters of the Broadmead hub, established in 1950, were both listed.

Cllr Nicola Beech added, “Some people still remember these buildings going up. Although most people do not give them a second look, they represent the optimism and confidence of the era in which they were built, and are architecturally distinctive. Hopefully the new designations will help people see them in a new light and recognise the contribution they make to the Bristol’s story.”