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Unlike most pubs of the name, "Britannia" refers
not to the goddess but to the aircraft once built at the nearby Filton
aerospace factory complex. This was a 1950s estate pub in the Bristol suburb
of Patchway, and two of the attached photos, from the archives of the former
H & G Simonds Ltd brewery Architects Department, seem to show it around the
time of its opening, because the Austin Princess limo on the forecourt
suggests that a VIP was present.
Sadly, it had gone far downhill by the early
2000's when I stopped in it for a sandwich lunch on a few occasions.
Actually they didn't sell any food but suggested I bring back a sandwich
from a nearby convenience store to go with a beer. I was the only customer
and I took care to pick a seat without gaping holes in the leatherette. I
guess it was busier in the evenings, and judging by the boards over some of
the windows missing their glass I imagined things could sometimes get
lively. The Britannia was mentioned in an internet discussion of the worst
pubs in Bristol around that time.
It closed some time soon before January 2010,
was demolished in 2013, and the site is now occupied by an NHS centre. |
