Gloucester Place

Gloucester Place, May 2008

Photo by Maureen Brand

Gloucester Place postbox

Photo by Maureen Brand

The former Gloucester Hotel, now a nightclub

Photo by Maureen Brand

Gloucester Place Baptist Church

Photo by Maureen Brand

A brief history

By Maureen Brand, North Laine resident

Gloucester Place was built approximately 1800-1808 and was later widened by the removal of front gardens. It has been rebuilt in places over the years but some early buildings remain. No 27 was first the Gloucester Hotel, opened in 1819. It was remodelled in 1925 and is now, in 2008, a night club.

The Astoria opened in 1933 and closed in 1977. Once ornate, it has been closed and changed hands for many years and in 2008 is in poor condition, its future uncertain. The Gloucester Place Baptist Church, built in 1904, was damaged in a World War II air raid.