The Air Balloon is a road junction and former pub in Birdlip, Gloucestershire, England. The junction is on the A417 at a significant congestion point. The pub was open from the late 18th century to 2022, when it closed as part of road improvements, and was subsequently demolished.
The pub stood next to a roundabout junction on the A417, a major road between Swindon and Gloucester via Cirencester. [1] The A436 meets the A417 at this point; the two roads together form a de facto bypass of Cheltenham between Oxford and Gloucester. [2]
The pub opened in 1784 and was probably named after one of the first British balloon flights: the launching of a small hydrogen balloon by Edward Jenner on 2 September of that year, which flew from Berkeley Castle to Kingscote and then on to a field near Birdlip. [3] [4] This was the year after the pioneering flights of the Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon and Jacques Charles's hydrogen balloon in Paris. [1] It was known as the Balloon by 1796 and renamed the Air Balloon in 1802. [5] By 1856, the landlord was brewing beer on-site. [1] The premises were part of the Cowley Manor estate until some time early in the 20th century. The pub was bought by Greene King in 2004. [6] In 2020 the menu included burgers, steaks, vegetarian food, "pub classics" and a lunchtime carvery. [7]
The pub was under threat of demolition as it sat alongside a short section of single-carriageway road which is otherwise a high-quality route between the M4 and M5 motorways. [8] [9] Although the junction has been said to be a notorious accident blackspot, from 1999 to 2014 there were an estimated 340 casualties along the whole section of road, which National Highways said was below average for the type of road. [10]
In March 2019, Highways England proposed improvements that would include demolition of the pub, [11] [12] stating that the local geography and steep hills made it otherwise impossible to build a high-quality road meeting modern safety standards. [13] The road could not be routed elsewhere as it would cut through Barrow Wake, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. [14] Highways England stated that it would consult landowners and assess the social impact of the pub's demolition in a further design stage. [15] As of June 2021, the pub was open, but was expected to be demolished. [16] The landlord subsequently announced in December 2022 that the pub would close on New Year's Eve, and then it would be demolished. [17] [18]
Actor John Challis' widow said the couple used to visit the pub regularly, and she was sad to see it close. [19] A spokesperson for Highways England expressed surprise at the pub's closure, saying it could have stayed open longer. There were additional concerns that a now-closed prominent landmark could become a magnet for vandalism. [20] The premises were demolished in December 2023 as part of the construction work. [21] On 21 July 2024, four people were killed after a car crash on the A436 between the Air Balloon and Seven Springs. [22]
Cirencester is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the eighth largest settlement in Gloucestershire and the largest town within the Cotswolds. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural University, the oldest agricultural college in the English-speaking world, founded in 1840. The town had a population of 20,229 in 2021. The town is 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Swindon, 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Gloucester, 37 miles (60 km) west of Oxford and 39 miles (63 km) northeast of Bristol.
The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely complete by 1980, though a non-motorway section around Briton Ferry bridge remained until 1993. On the opening of the Second Severn Crossing in 1996, the M4 was rerouted over it.
Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The name is derived from a local coaching inn.
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Shirley is an area of south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It lies north of Spring Park and Addington, east of Addiscombe, south of Monks Orchard and west of West Wickham, and 10 miles south-southeast of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, Shirley was in the administrative county of Surrey.
The A419 road is a primary route between Chiseldon near Swindon at junction 15 of the M4 with the A346 road, and Whitminster in Gloucestershire, England near the M5 motorway. The A419 is managed and maintained by a private company, Road Management Group, on behalf of the UK Department for Transport.
The A417 is a main road in England, running from Streatley, Berkshire to Hope under Dinmore, Herefordshire. It is best known for its section between Cirencester and Gloucester where it has primary status and forms part of the link between the major settlements of Swindon and Gloucester.
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Longport is an area of Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is the location for Longbridge Hayes industrial estate.
Kingscote is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, set on the uplands near the south western edge of the Cotswold hills. It is situated about two miles (3 km) east of Uley, five miles (8 km) east of Dursley and four miles (6 km) west of Tetbury. The landscape is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The hamlet of Newington Bagpath lies to the west of the village; the parish lands extend near to the small village of Owlpen.
Cowley is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. It lies between the A417 and A435 roads between Cheltenham and Cirencester in the Churn Valley, and has a population of 333. The name originates from 'cow' and 'leigh', literally meaning cow pasture.
Birdlip is a village and civil parish, in the Cotswold district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Cheltenham and 8 miles (13 km) south east of Gloucester.
Kingscote Park is a Grade II listed house and country estate in Kingscote, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England. The original Kingscote Park was demolished in 1951. Both houses formed part of the manor of Kingscote which was held by the Kingscote family from the 12th century and is mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'Chingescote'.
An air balloon usually refers to a hot air balloon.
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