The claim
A carriage arch off Northgate Street opens into a courtyard ringed by three storeys of jettied timber galleries, built by Gloucester's abbey for its visitors and still working as bar, restaurant and hotel. Fire took part of the roof and several bedrooms in May 2018; the medieval frame came through it, and the galleries remain the best of their kind in the country.
What the records show
The New Inn gives 1450, when the monk John Twyning built it for St Peter's Abbey to lodge visitors — an inn from the start rather than a house that later took a licence. No document states that year: Historic England lists it Grade I as a mid-C15 inn of four ranges around a galleried courtyard, the most complete survival of its kind in Britain, and the Victoria County History of Gloucestershire says the same without a year — "The New Inn, built in the mid 15th century, has a galleried courtyard" — adding that its jetties ran round two sides on elaborately carved corner posts. So the century is documented by scholarship and the year is the inn's own. Historic England also notes an earlier inn on the site. Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed queen from the gallery in 1553. The story that it housed pilgrims to Edward II's tomb was first written down in the 18th century and may be later colour.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1450 | Claimed founding | No published claimant |
| c.1450 | Present building | Historic England listing |
| 1450 | First record of a drinking house here | Historic England |
What to look for inside
- Galleried courtyard of four ranges, the most complete medieval example in Britain
- Lady Jane Grey proclaimed queen from the gallery in 1553
- Damaged by fire in May 2018 and repaired
Visiting
New Inn is in Gloucester, England, at 16 Northgate Street, Gloucester GL1 1SF. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1245714
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Inn,_Gloucester
- camra.org.uk/pubs/new-inn-hotel-gloucester-171563
- www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol4/pp63-72
- ratings.food.gov.uk/business/1759502
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
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