Ship Inn ‘could help preserve town history’

CONCERNS for the future of The Ship Inn at Keynsham have prompted residents to say what they would like to see happen to the building.

The pub on Temple Street has been empty since it closed its doors in May 2023.

The owners – the Wellington Pub Company based in London – are currently advertising the lease through Bristol letting agents Fleurets.

As reported in last month’s Voice, local resident Jean Burnett said she feared for the Grade II listed pub, stating that it was “decaying by the week” and its windows had been smashed by vandals.

Now residents have been discussing the pub’s future on the Keynsham Community Page on Facebook.

One suggestion is that the building should be turned into a visitor centre about old Keynsham, hosting school trips.

“Some children know hardly anything about our town,” one comment read. “I loved all that as a kid. The history of our historic Keynsham town is amazing.”

Another, who supported the idea, added: “The Ship has so much history to it as well. It’s so sad to see it in the state it’s in now.

“It has always been such a lovely pub with the garden overlooking the river and I really hope one day it will get refurbished and open again, as at the moment it’s another part of Keynsham we seem to have neglected and lost.”

One person said that there had been attempts to set up a museum in the town in the past but all had failed due to a lack of funds, and that the few items in the town’s library were just a tiny fraction of what was in storage.

“We have one of the most important Roman villas in Britain, an abbey of similar size to Bristol containing Jasper Tudor’s tomb, and many important industrial sites.

“All this needs a museum to pass on the message of how important Keynsham has been in the past and why we should be proud of Keynsham.”

Btu others wanted to see The Ship remain as a pub.

One said: “Keynsham has lost so many of its historic pubs, so I’d rather it be a pub, but the building needs saving either way.”

The stone-built, two-storey property is believed to date from 1636. It has two pétanque pitches in its garden.

The real-ale pub had previously won praise from CAMRA for having an interior of special national historic interest.

The Voice approached Wellington pub Company and Fleurets for comment about the state of The Ship and its future but received no reply.