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232 Bath Road'Five Alls' was a popular name for public houses in the 19th century and derives from an earlier pub name 'Four Alls', tying in with the 'For All' captions on the pub sign. On the 1855 map of Cheltenham this pub was still called 'Four Alls' and the working man seems to have been added later. So on the pub sign there were now five people, with the captions 'I Rule For All' (Monarch), 'I Plead For All' (Barrister), 'I Pray For All' (Priest), 'I Fight For All' (Soldier) and 'I Work For All' (Labourer). By 1857 the pub was referred to in the local press as the "Five Alls beer house, Bath Road", so the name change must have occurred about then.
 The former pub sign
In September 1857 the landlord David White was fined 18 shillings (90p), including costs, for keeping his house open after 11 o'clock on a Thursday night, contrary to the terms of his lease. The licensing laws were strictly applied in the 19th century and Mr White fell foul of them again in 1862. On that occasion however he was able to explain that it was practice night for the local military bandsmen and that the pub had actually been locked. He was still fined 13 shillings.
In fact David White seems to have been a well-respected man. He was the Drum-Major of the Cheltenham Rifle Corps for 12 years and in 1865 was awarded the Freedom of the City of Gloucester for his promotion of the rifle movement in the county. Despite the alliance with France in the Crimean War (1854-56) there was still some anxiety about Britain's security, stirred up by The Times newspaper, resulting in the creation of local Rifle Volunteer Corps. By 1864 David White was becoming involved in local politics and declared his intention to stand as a councillor for Cheltenham's south ward. He died on 13th January 1872 at the Five Alls, the notice of his death bearing the words 'Deservedly Respected'.
In March 1861 George Scarrett, a razor grinder, had been charged with the theft from the pub of a stuffed squirrel in a glass case, with an estimated value of 5 shillings. We might wonder if the magistrate, Colonel Newman, was fully on top of the matter as he enquired as to whether the stuffed squirrel was alive! Scarrett admitted that he had sold the animal and got drunk on the proceeds.
David White was succeeded by Job Lyes and then by his widow Louisa Sophia Lyes, until 1884. The Lyes had a number of children, some of who died very young. Louisa Lyes married the next landlord, George Clinton and then they were replaced in 1888 by John Simms. John died aged 52 on 17th September 1897 at his home in Leckhampton Road. His wife Louisa Simms continued to run the Five Alls alone but faced opposition from the local police superintendent when the license came up for renewal, on the basis that it was unsuitable for a single woman to run a public house without the support of a man. The owners Messrs Hall & Co. subsequently supplied Louisa with a male assistant and she retained the license. By the early 1900’s, Godsell and Sons of Stroud (later the Stroud Brewery Company) owned the Five Alls.
In March 1901 Albert Gastrell of Painswick was fined 2 shillings and sixpence for leaving his two horses and a wagon unattended in front of the pub for over half an hour. He claimed that he was only delivering beer but, whatever his reason, runaway horses were a serious danger before the age of the motor car and the rules were strict.
The pub passed to Arthur Thomas Price in January 1906. Mr Price was the landlord of these premises, licensed to serve beer and cider, for seventeen months.
Then in 1907 came Mr Frank Young, who had previously been the licensee of the Fountain Inn on the opposite side of Bath Road (where Sainsbury’s supermarket is now). Frank died aged 44 on his wife Harriet’s 56th birthday, October 11th 1914. She was granted a temporary licence which became permanent on December 17th 1914.
Harriet Louisa Young had been connected with the licensing trade all of her life. She was born in 1858, the daughter of Henry Morgan, who kept the Cherry Tree Inn in Swindon Road, Cheltenham. Her first marriage was to Mr George Child, landlord of the King’s Arms in Prestbury. They moved to the Tivoli Inn and later to the Albert Arms in St. Paul’s. When she married Frank Young he was already at the Fountain Inn and they moved from there to the Five Alls in 1907. After Frank’s death Harriet was assisted by her daughter Rose and her husband Arthur Doane. They lived at the pub and it was here that their two sons, Ronnie and Albert were born in 1920 and 1924. Harriet passed away at the Five Alls on October 5th 1932, at the age of 73.  New pub sign, 2019
Rose and Arthur Doane became the landlords at the Five Alls for about fifteen years, after which they continued to live in the house at the rear of the pub, in Francis Street, where Rose died in 1950 at the age of 62. Arthur and his second wife, Hilda, carried on living there for a while and then moved to Hester’s Way.
The next publican was Mr Richard ("Dick") Sparkes, who was at the pub for about a decade. Dick and his wife Rosie came to the Five Alls from the Oak Inn, Lower Barton Street, Gloucester. Sadly Rosie died in July 1957, after a long illness, when she was only forty-two years old. Dick’s second wife was a petite lady nicknamed ‘Tiny’ after her stature! They remained at the pub until 1961.  1991 (photo courtesy of Cheltenham Local History Society)
March 1961 saw the arrival of the Five Alls fifth landlord of the century. Mr. Kevin ("Paddy") Hernon, and his wife Eileen, kept the pub until Paddy’s death in 1982. Eileen stayed until March 1983 when Tony and Norma Holland took over.
In 2019 the Five Alls closed for refurbishment and has since reopened with a smart new interior which pays respect to its history. Researchers: Marilyn West & Stuart Manton
Updated: November 2019 |
The Five Alls in about 1950
Intriguingly, the map below shows the name of the pub as the 'Four Alls'. This ties in better with the captions beneath the images on the pub sign. The names 'Four Alls' and 'Five Alls' were once quite popular names for British public houses.
Detail from the Old Town Survey 1855-57
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