The Talbot, Stow-on-the-Wold

The Talbot, Stow-on-the Wold
The Talbot, Stow-on-the Wold
Location	Market Square, Stow-on-the-Wold
Coordinates	51°55′47″N1°43′21″W / 51.9298°N 1.7226°W / 51.9298; -1.7226
Built	1714
Architectural style(s)	Vernacular style
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	The Talbot Hotel (and rear extensions)
Designated	3 March 1982
Reference no.	1088797
Shown in Gloucestershire

The Talbot, formerly known as The Talbot Hotel, is a public house in the Market Square in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England. The structure, which was originally a coaching inn and later served as the local corn exchange as well as the main hotel in the town, is a Grade II listed building. ^[1]

History

The Talbot was originally conceived as a coaching inn with stables in the street behind. It was designed in the vernacular style, built in rubble masonry in around 1714. ^{[2] [3]} In the 1840s, the building began to serve as the local corn exchange and, at that time, the left-hand section of three bays was refaced in ashlar stone such that it slightly projected forward onto the Market Square. The new façade was fenestrated with sash windows on all three floors with hood moulds above each window and a parapet at roof level. Meanwhile, the right-hand section of two bays remained faced in rubble masonry with more basic finishes. ^[1]

A brass letter box was installed between the windows on the ground floor to enable corn merchants to post their weekly corn returns: these returns informed the weekly summary of local corn trades published in national newspapers. ^{[4] [5]} In the second half of the 18th century, the hotel proprietor was Richard Day and it was branded "Day's Talbot Hotel". ^{[6] [7]}

The use of the building as a corn exchange declined significantly in the wake of the Great Depression of British Agriculture in the late 19th century. ^[8] However, the building continued to provide lodging for customers and to serve as a regular meeting place for local farmers, ^[9] and for the local masonic lodge. ^[10] An extensive programme of repairs was carried out, following a serious fire in the building in February 1870. ^[11]

The hotel was acquired by Hitchman's Brewery of Chipping Norton in the late 19th century, before passing to Hunt Edmunds Brewery of Banbury in 1925. ^[12] It came into the ownership of Bass Charrington in the 1960s, ^[13] by which time it was the largest hotel in the town. ^[2] It was subsequently acquired by Wadworths of Devizes in 1985. ^[11]

See also

• Corn exchanges in England

References

1. Historic England. "The Talbot Hotel (and rear extensions) (1088797)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 25 July 2023.
2. Elrington, C. R. (1965). "'Parishes: Stow-on-the-Wold', in A History of the County of Gloucester". London: British History Online. pp. 142–165. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
3. Pevsner, Nikolaus (1970). Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds (Buildings of England Series). Penguin Books. p. 425.
4. "Corn Returns Act 1882". Legislation.co.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
5. "The Talbot". Stow Civic Society. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
6. Edgell, Tim (2010). "Cotswold Pubs and Breweries". Amberly Publishing. ISBN   978-1445627571.
7. "A List of the Lodges Comprising the Independent Order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity, Friendly Society, with a Table of the Lodge Nights". The Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 1880. p. 45.
8. Fletcher, T. W. (1973). 'The Great Depression of English Agriculture 1873-1896' in British Agriculture 1875-1914. London: Methuen. p. 31. ISBN   978-1136581182.
9. "Cotswold Sunday School Union". The Sunday School Chronicle. 20 April 1877. p. 209. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
10. "Reports of the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies". House of Commons. 14 August 1877. p. 225.
11. "Talbot Hotel, Market Square, Stow-on-the Wold". Gloucestershire Pubs. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
12. "The Brewing Industry A Guide to Historical Records". Manchester University Press. 1990. p. 181. ISBN   9780719030321.
13. Little, Brian (2003). Banbury: A History. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. pp. 104–105. ISBN   978-1860772429.