The Llandoger Trow is a historic

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 ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, south-west

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Dating from 1664, it is on King Street, between Welsh Back and Queen Charlotte Street, near the old city centre docks. Named by a sailor who owned the pub after

Llandogo Llandogo ( cy, Llaneuddogwy) is a small village in Monmouthshire, south Wales, between Monmouth and Chepstow in the lower reaches of the Wye Valley AONB, two miles north of Tintern. It is set on a steep hillside overlooking the River Wye and a ...

in Wales which built

trow A trow was a type of cargo boat found in the past on the rivers Severn and Wye in Great Britain and used to transport goods. Features The mast could be taken down so that the trow could go under bridges, such as the bridge at Worcester and ...

s (flat-bottomed river boats), the building was damaged in World War II, but remained in sufficiently good condition to be designated Grade II* listed building status in 1959. The pub is said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write of the Admiral Benbow Inn in ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' and

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel '' Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...

supposedly met Alexander Selkirk there, his inspiration for ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

''. The pub is also supposedly haunted, with up to 15 ghosts, the best known being a small child whose footsteps can be heard on the top floor. On 20 April 2019 the pub was closed, but has now re-opened as part of the Bloomsbury Leisure group.

History

The building dates from 1664, originally a row of three houses. It was built on a timber box frame, with brick stacks. The pub has an 18th-century shop front, but the main door dates from the 20th century. The pub was partially destroyed by a bomb in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, but three of the original five projecting

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...

s remain. It was designated 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 I ...

on 8 January 1959. Tradition has it that

met Alexander Selkirk, his inspiration for ''

'', here,Bristol Tourist Information
History & Heritage and it was

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

’s inspiration for the Admiral Benbow in ''

''. In the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

the pub was associated with the Theatre Royal, which is across the road, and was visited by many performers and musicians including

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ...

Name

A ''

'' was a flat-bottomed barge, and

is a village north-west of Bristol, across the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary ( cy, Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its high tidal range, approximately , means that it has been at the centre of discussions in t ...

and upstream on the

River Wye The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of the border between England and Wales ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, where trows were once built. Trows historically sailed to trade in Bristol from Llandogo. The pub was named by Captain Hawkins, a sailor who lived in Llandogo and ran the pub.

Modern usage

In 1962 it became a Berni Inn, but now belongs to

Whitbread Whitbread plc is a multinational British hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England. The business was founded as a brewery in 1742, and had become the largest brewery in the world by the 1780s. Its largest division ...

and traded as a

Brewers Fayre Brewers Fayre is a licensed pub restaurant chain, with 161 locations across the UK as of August 2018. Owned by Whitbread, Brewers Fayre restaurants are known for serving traditional British pub food and for their Sunday Carvery. History The f ...

. In 2007, The Llandoger Trow was one of the three locations seen in the "Pirate's Cove" episode of ''

Most Haunted Live! ''Most Haunted Live'' is a spin-off of the paranormal reality television series '' Most Haunted'' and was also produced by Antix Productions. The show consists of paranormal investigations broadcast live over a period of one or more nights, ...

'' The others were Blackbeard's houses and

Redcliffe Caves Redcliffe Caves are a series of man made tunnels beneath the Redcliffe area of Bristol, England. The Triassic red sandstone was dug into in the Middle ages to provide sand for glass making and pottery production. Further excavation took place f ...

. The most popular ghost story associated with the pub is that of a small child who wore leg braces and haunts the top floor, their footsteps heard at night. The programme claimed that there were at least 15 ghosts at the Llandoger Trow, and since 2009 the owners have organised ghost hunts overnight. In 2019 Whitbread decided to close the Llandoger Trow as it did not fit Whitbread's style of pubs, and it needed repairs at an estimated cost exceeding £2 million. It closed on 20 April 2019. Whitbread intend to lease out the building as a going concern.

References

{{Culture in Bristol Buildings and structures completed in 1664 Grade II* listed pubs in Bristol 1664 establishments in England Daniel Defoe Robert Louis Stevenson