Jersey pub chain buys Bristol Inn with a dark secret

Friday 28 July 2017

If you’re looking for a place to get a skinful while holidaying in the South West, the Liberation Group’s latest acquisition might just be the place for you - literally.

Bristol-based Tudor pub The Hatchet Inn is the latest drinking room to be purchased by the Channel Islands chain – and it comes with an ancient door lined with human skin.

The 300-year-old creepy port’s provenance remains unclear, though historians say that Bristolian law lords were no stranger to using the skin of executed criminals in weird and wonderful ways, having previously used one murderer’s skin to bind his trial notes, according to Bristol Museum.

But the pub’s intrigue doesn’t end there. Licensed in 1606, it’s the oldest in Bristol, having served pints since before the English Civil War.

Pictured: Liberation Group CEO Mark Crowther said he was "delighted" with the quirky acquisition.

From the 18^th century, it attracted a varied patronage: cock fighters, bare knuckle boxers, and pirates. Even the infamous Blackbeard was rumoured to have graced the inn with his swashbuckling, beer-glugging presence. Some say that ghosts regularly visit too.

Nowadays, it not only enjoys a reputation of ghouls and gruesomeness, but has become one of the city’s leading music venues.

Drew Short, who has managed the pub for over a decade, will continue in his role as Liberation Group adds it to its now seven-strong South West portfolio. Purchased in an off-market transaction for an undisclosed sum, it will make up part of the group’s UK-based Butcombe Brewery collection.

Mark Crowther, CEO of the Liberation Group, commented: “This historic pub is a fantastic addition to our Butcombe portfolio. The heritage and charm the pub offers has allowed it to draw in thirsty drinkers for centuries. We are delighted to have such a beautiful pub in our estate. The Hatchet Inn is an iconic pub in Bristol with an incredible and unusual legacy. We look forward to taking the reins and building on its impressive reputation.”