THE HISTORY OF THE PRINCE ALBERT

FROM GLOUCESTERSHIREPUBS.CO.UK
The Prince Albert is located at the top of Walkley Hill, not far from Rodborough Common. The four gabled stone built corner pub has altered very little since the beginning of the 20th century when it was enlarged by the Stroud Brewery architect P.R. Morley-Harder.

Saturday 25th March 1905 – Difficulties of the Licensing Act – Novel application at Stroud:
A novel application was heard at Stroud on Friday, under the new Licensing Act. The Stroud Brewery Company sought to obtain a full licence for the Prince Albert Inn, Rodborough, offering to surrender the existing anti-1869 licence they now held for the same house and the Star Inn licence, Town Hill, at the monopoly value to the County fund. Mr Hyett, chairman of the bench, suggested it would be wise to eliminate all question of surrendering the Star. Mr Heeds, for the Brewery, pointed out they should surrender the Star withot compensation conditionally on the full licence being given.

The bench said they could not accept the offer from a financial point of view, but they could not accept it as an inducement. Mr Hyett remarked that a difficult point arose on which they ought to have the opinion of the High Court. For compensation, hotels and public houses stood on a different footing. Were they to take the same principle for monopoly value?

Mr Heeda replied that the premises, which would be rebuilt, would not carry an hotel licence. The monopoly value should, he argued, be the difference between the value of the premises as they stood and the new licence. The Bench refused the application.

Gloucester Citizen, Saturday 25th March 1911 – Gloucestershire Licensing Committee: 
The application of Mrs Amelia Blanche Barton Cullimore, Prince Albert Inn, Rodborough beerhouse keeper, for the removal of the publican’s license from the Golden Fleece, Rodborough, to the Prince Albert (which is already licensed as a beerhouse), in the same parish, was adjourned until Tuesday, 4th April, as the 21 days which must elapse between the grant of the license and its confirmation had not expired.

Gloucester Citizen, Monday 29th April 1912 – The Prince Albert Bowling Club: 
The opening of the Rodborough Club will take place on Thursday next, the 2nd May, with a match with the Stonehouse Club. It is expected that Sir Alfred Apperley will preside and bowl the first wood. A tea will be provided by the Club, and all members are cordially invited to be present. The opening ceremony will be continued on the following Saturday, 4th May, with a match at the Stroud Bowling Club, at which all members are invited to be present. 

Gloucester Citizen, 3rd October 1980 – Former licensee dies: 
Mrs Nan Hunt (76) who used to run the Prince Albert, Rodborough, Stroud, has died after a year long illness. She and her husband Percy took over the pub nearly 30 years ago. When Mr Hunt died in 1973 Mrs Hunt and her daughter Sheila carried on until she retired three years ago. Mrs Hunt, who moved into a bungalow in nearby Queens Road, Rodborough, is also survived by two other daughters.

Stroud News & Journal, July 2005 – Alert residents help rescue six people from pub blaze:
Quick-thinking Rodborough residents helped rescue six people – including three children – and a dog from their local pub after it was almost engulfed in a terrifying blaze. Landlady Charlotte Lyster, 37, and her three children, togrther with their au pair, her boyfrend, and pub dog Jasper, escaped through upstairs windows as the blaze took hold at the Prince Albert just after midnight on Wednesday 6th July. Seeing the smoke, locals grabbed a stepladder and placed it at the side of the building so the family could clamber to safety. “At the moment I feel very lucky,” said Charlotte. “I went upstairs at about 11.30pm and was almost asleep when I heard people shouting outside. I thought I’d better look, and as I got out of bed the room was filling with smoke which was coming up through the floorboards.  I didn’t really feel that scared – my first thought was to get the children out.” Polish au pair Joanna  Konka and her boyfriend Olly Playne, both 25, bundled Charlotte’s youngest son, nine, out of the window first. “We had all been asleep so we were finding clothes in the dark,” added Charlotte. “We all had each others clothes on by the time we came out of the window.” She also grabbed her dog, Jasper. Prince Albert regular Tom Walker, 19, who lives just two doors from the pub said, said: “You couldn’t really see inside because the curtains were closed but there was a lot of smoke coming from the windows. It could have been a lot worse.” The building suffered severe smoke damage and the flames, believed to have been started by an electrical fault, left much of the bar area charred and melted.

Landlords at the Prince Albert include:

1872 James Fisher / 1891 Henry Walker (died September 18th 1893, aged 56 years) / 1903,1911 Amelia Blanch Cullimore / 1919 James Lawson / 1923,1926 John William Gee (died 23rd March 1926, aged 48,  he had been in ill-health for a period extending over two years. ‘The late Mr Gee was keenly interested in all forms of sport, particularly bowls, golf and cricket.’) / 1927 Mrs Ada Gee (widow) / 1930 P.G. Poole / 1939 Albert Edwin Thomas / 1950’s – 1973 Percy and Nan Nunt / 1973 – 1977 Nan Hunt and daughter Sheila / 1981 Richard Johnson / 1980’s – 1990’s Richard Small / 1996 (May) Graham Stephens and Lottie Lyster / 2003 - present Lottie Lyster (and Miles Connolly – Premises Supervisor)