The Brandy Cask, 25 Bridge Street

Image: © P L Chadwick Taken: 22 Jun 2010

A Grade II listed building. The pub has its own mini-brewery, which currently brews for the pub only. From the outside it looks as if the pub was at one time a coaching inn. There is a beer garden backing onto the attractive River Avon. In the period 2007/2008 it looked as if the pub might close. Application was made to turn it into eight senior citizen flats. The application for change of use was refused by the district council. It went to appeal but in August 2008 the appeal was dismissed. An interesting but sad fact about the Brandy Cask, arises from the Wings for Victory Week held in May 1943, during the Second World War. This was a national fund raising scheme to encourage civilians to save their money in Government savings accounts, such as War Bonds etc. During an air display, a wing of a Wellington bomber came off and fell on the roof of the Brandy Cask, causing damage. But much worse was the fact that all the Wellington's crew of six were killed in this incident. Image Update (November 2016 courtesy of Jeff Gogarty): A further application was made in August 2015 to "Conversion of a public house and manager's accommodation to form eight residential units consisting of seven flats and one dwelling in the courtyard outbuilding." which again was refused but was allowed on appeal in July 2016. As of November 2016 the pub has closed and is undergoing development.

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