Photo above: Circa, 1900, showing LBM signage, the name of the pub is still Braunstone Gate Brewery.
1830,s ran by Thomas Bates and his wife, auctions were held here 1834.
Feb 1835 Thomas Bates appeared in court in what the LJ described in a “high state of vexation, excitation and other sations” he anger was aimed at notorious informer Moses Pegg who Bates accused of taking 7/6 to escape being informed only for Pegg to lay a charge of domino playing. Bates burst into a fit of rage, was ushered out of the court, the LJ continued their report with ” the closing of the door robbed those within the room of Thomas Bates his retiring voice falling on the ear like the hum of a blue fly in a bottle”
1839 Mrs Bates was assaulted by John Greaves and his son, on promising not to annoy her again they were both dismissed from court.
The Freemasons Arms c1889, sold for £1275, became Braunstone Gate Brewery, sold to Leicester Brewing & Malting in 1900 for £6050 from the owner William Granger. The brewery was demolished, and further land at the rear was added when purchased from Charlotte Broadbent on 17 May 1926, with alterations being made.
JR lists the licensees from 1840 as follows: 1840, William Hubbard. 1846, Daniel Glover. 1854, William Flude. 1878, William Granger. 1900, George Oldacre. 1909, Frederick Preston. 1913, Ernest Preston. 1917, Doris Preston. !919, Ernest Preston. 1926, John Cox. 1937, Charles Beck. 1941, Percival Stevens. 1954, Alban Lee. 1956, Albert Orme. 1958, Edward Cash. 1963, Geoffrey Brown. 1965, William Ellis. 1968, Thomas Pope. 1970, Harry Callaghan. 1972, Samuel Murison. 1974, Leonard Kiff. 1975, Frank Kermode. 1986, William Crouch. 1988, Joan Porter. 1992, Christopher Hamill.
Little has changed externally from the first black and white photo as an LBM pub in the late 1940s, when the Braunstone Gate Inn was a beer only house, not gaining its full licence until 13 February 1952. The coloured photo below was taken in 1993.
The Braunstone Gate was to take in a major refurbishment in 2002, a complete refit and change of name to the Common Room updated the pub into a more fashionable café-bar type establishment. Perhaps it was the only way forward, nevertheless a sad one in some ways.
It lasted only about five years before another change to VERDE.
In 2007, now named Verde, reverted back to the Common Room in February, 2009.
Around a year later became Bar 66, this picture was taken sometime in 2011.
Bar 66. photo around 2014 (above). In 2017, it had another revamp, and opened as Manhattan, June 2017.
Opened in June 2017, not to be confused with the Manhattan Bar, in Rutland Street.
Reverted to Gate 66, a dance and night club. c2018
2023 Now Closed and reopen as Secret Garden Shishi Bar – Sign of the times eh
Lorraine King informs us that the old signage ‘uncovered’ has to be kept as its in a conservation area.
The Braunstone Gate Inn had its first major refurbishment in 1986 when it was changed from a two room pub into a single room with the bar as an island in the centre, this was my first pub in 1986.
Many thanks Bill, all helps in recording its history