Stroud's Imperial Hotel - and its neighbours

By Pauline Stevens

Stroud's Imperial Hotel - and its neighbours
The Imperial Hotel, designed by Benjamin Bucknall and renamed Stroud Hotel in 2022, had several fascinating changes in its journey to being the town centre's only surviving hotel. Its prime position opposite the railway station helped its success, as did the hotel's extremely competent early managers Mrs Wade and then her daughter Mrs Lawson.
The hotel's owners, managers and their families all have stories; others nearby also have a tale to tell, like a station master who had more than his fair share of misfortune.
The hotel's original neighbours have changed beyond recognition – did you know that there was once a garage on Station Road? So this thoroughly-researched book also has stories of that garage, the town's early street markets, the Railway Hotel and what is now Stroud House.
Original documents and old pictures give fascinating details about all these buildings and there are dramatic newspaper reports of fire, explosion and scandal. Old adverts are also informative, but most of the ones for staff would not be allowed today.
The final chapter on architect Benjamin Bucknall tells of his work at Woodchester Mansion, St Rose's Convent, a house in Beeches Green and later in Algiers. The chapter includes new research about Bucknall's local family, and the branch that settled in Australia before the 1850s gold rush.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781446658376

Book preview

Stroud’s Imperial Hotel and its neighbours

Imperial Hotel. Howard Beard Collection

By Pauline Stevens

First published 2023

© Pauline Stevens All Rights Reserved

ISBN

978-1-4466-5837-6

Imprint: Lulu.com

Pauline Stevens is a member of Stroud Local History Society www.stroudlocalhistorysociety.org.uk

Also available as a printed book - email: [e-mail]

Front cover: Imperial Hotel 2019 by Pauline Stevens

Information

Stroud's Imperial Hotel - and its neighbours

The Imperial Hotel, designed by Benjamin Bucknall and renamed Stroud Hotel in 2022, had several fascinating changes in its journey to being the town centre's only surviving hotel. Its prime position opposite the railway station helped its success, as did the hotel's extremely competent early managers Mrs Wade and then her daughter Mrs Lawson.

The hotel's owners, managers and their families all have stories; others nearby also have a tale to tell, like a station master who had more than his fair share of misfortune.

The hotel's original neighbours have changed beyond recognition – did you know that there was once a garage on Station Road? So this thoroughly-researched book also has stories of that garage, the town's early street markets, the Railway Hotel and what is now Stroud House.

Original documents and old pictures give fascinating details about all these buildings and there are dramatic newspaper reports of fire, explosion and scandal. Old adverts are also informative, but most of the ones for staff would not be allowed today.

The final chapter on architect Benjamin Bucknall tells of his work at Woodchester Mansion, St Rose's Convent, a house in Beeches Green and later in Algiers. The chapter includes new research about Bucknall's local family, and the branch that settled in Australia before the 1850s gold rush.

Contents

Stroud’s Imperial Hotel and its neighbours

Information

Contents

Introduction

1.      Before the Imperial Hotel

1.1 Stroud’s Streets, Station and Bath Place

1.2 Railway Hotel and its Innkeepers

1.3 Stroud Fairs

1.4 Another Railway Inn

1.5 Mr Robinson - Landowner

2. Imperial Hotel

2.1 A M Roberts 1863-1872

2.2 Mary Wade 1872-1884 and Hotel Extension

2.3 Frances Wade/Lawson 1884-1924

2.4 Imperial Hotel 1924-1970s

3. Station Road

3.1 Imperial Hotel Stables, Garage, then Imperial House

3.2 Mr Spire’s Home

3.3 Station Master’s House

3.4 Mr Knee’s Home

3.5 Conservative Club/Stroud House

4. Mr Buck – Imperial Hotel Owner

4.1 Mr Buck - engineer

4.2 Mr Buck - pin manufacturer

5. Benjamin Bucknall - Architect

5.1 No 8 Rowcroft

5.2 Woodchester

5.3 Stroud

Slad Church

4a High Street, Stroud

St Rose of Lima Convent, Beeches Green

West Grange

5.4 Swansea

5.5 Algiers

5.6 Benjamin Bucknall’s Family

Conclusion

References and Acknowledgements

About the Author

Index

Introduction

Every visitor to Stroud must perforce have noticed the Imperial Hotel, which occupies the space immediately facing the Great Western Railway Station. The façade is very imposing and a credit to the town. That was the description in an advert of 1902, but still applies today.

The Imperial Hotel is a Stroud landmark on a prime spot next to the railway station, but sadly the doors closed at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, when the lease ran out. It was the end of an era, so it was good to hear that it was going to be open again in 2023 - as the Stroud Hotel. That prompted me to look at my research from a few years ago about the Imperial Hotel, when little was known about when it was built. As well as finding out that it opened in 1863, to my surprise I discovered that the hotel had been extended twice; my findings were included when it became a Listed Building in 2022.

As I researched the area around the hotel, interesting stories came to light about people who have been forgotten - such as the station master whose life was saved by his cat. Many of the stories come from old newspapers online, so are not guaranteed to be completely accurate, but are interesting and describe events in detail. Fires were not uncommon and was one of the reasons that the site became available for Stroud House to be built. Most of the tales are summarised, rather than full transcriptions.

References are given (in brackets) within the sentence it relates to, or after a section. Most of the newspapers are abbreviated: SJ = Stroud Journal (which was Liberal) and S News = Stroud News and Gloucestershire Advertiser (Conservative). Between them the Stroud newspapers online cover the period 1854 to 1910. These two newspapers merged in 1957 to become the SNJ = Stroud News and Journal. We have copies from the 1960s and 1970s that were kept by the late Lionel Walrond. (There is a full list of newspaper abbreviations at end of book if you are keen). My comments [are in square brackets] and explanations without references can be found by searching the internet.

When the Imperial Hotel opened there were already several hotels in the town, but being by the railway station gave it a big advantage. The Railway Hotel is now a restaurant, but the Royal George Hotel, Corn Hall Hotel, Albany Hotel, Swan Hotel and others are long gone, as are various inns and lodging houses. The Imperial remains a hotel, but a change of name, suggested in the 1870s, did not happen until 2022.

The coming of the railway played a significant part in the expansion of Stroud and its streets, but required some demolition along its route. It was an industrial town and although the railway brought goods in, many items were still made locally. Stroud in 1863 was a busy place with many traders living above the shop.

The 1863 trade directory shows that in the town centre there were many traders making goods for local customers. Blacksmiths and farriers, saddle and harness makers, engineers and coopers, coach builders, umbrella and basket makers, dyers, shoe and boot makers, clock and watch makers, jewellers and opticians, cabinet makers and upholsterers, carpenters and builders, printers, brush and rope makers, brewers and soda water manufacturers. Although the Holloway Brothers’ factory in Threadneedle Street was already producing ready-to-wear clothes, there were tailors and dressmakers. Drapers sold cloth, hatters and milliners made hats for men and women, hosiers sold knitted socks and stockings.

Food was also produced locally and sold by butchers, bakers, confectioners, fishmongers and various other shopkeepers. Services were provided by plumbers and painters, bankers and solicitors, chemists and surgeons, hairdressers and teachers. Carriers, coal merchants and others delivered goods around the town by horse and cart and used stables at the inns; there were two coffee rooms and a temperance hotel, but these were outnumbered by inns and beer sellers.

This book is full of stories, starting with the coming of the railway, the Railway Hotel and the area before the Imperial Hotel was built. Women played a large role in the management of the Imperial Hotel, with three generations from one family competently running it for over fifty years. Many still remember the steaks and speciality coffees when it was a Berni Inn.

Then we will discover the buildings that once stood in Station Road, the people who lived there and some catastrophes. The first owner of the Imperial Hotel was an engineer in Castle Street, who caused a nuisance for Paul Hawkins Fisher at the Castle. We will end with the hotel’s architect Benjamin Bucknall, his buildings and his family, which will take us to Australia.

Although I have always lived in Stroud, I made many interesting discoveries while researching for this book. I would like to share these stories and hope you will enjoy them too - some may raise a smile.

Stroud photographed by Oliver Smith c 1873. Howard Beard Collection

This photograph shows Stroud in 1873. In the book, we will see some parts of it enlarged, which are very interesting as they show buildings before they were altered.

All modern photographs taken by Pauline Stevens unless otherwise stated

Before the Imperial Hotel

The Imperial Hotel opened in 1863, eighteen years after the railway opened. The Great Western Railway company bought land from Mr ROBINSON to build the station, but did not sell the land and buildings they did not need until 1860. This story is in section 1.5.

GWR Station and Stroud brewery chimney. Museum in the Park Collection

1844 – 1888 OS map showing the Imperial Hotel by the GWR station

R = Russell St 1815, G = George St 1830, K = Kendrick St 1872

1.1 Stroud’s Streets, Station and Bath Place

The High Street is on an ancient route from Bisley to Paganhill. King Street originated as a road to Wallbridge Mill. George Street was new in the 1830s, but Kendrick Street was not built until 1872.

The road from King Street to Bowbridge was built in 1815, along with the toll road along the valley from Bowbridge to Chalford. Most of this route is called London Road, but Russell and Bedford Streets gained their names as a compliment to Lord John RUSSELL, sixth son of the Duke of Bedford.

Lord John Russell

Lord John Russell was a member