Home > Hampshire > Basingstoke > Great Western Hotel Great Western Hotel
Date of photo: 2014	Picture source: Basingstoke Gazette
The Great Western Hotel was situated on Vyne Road overlooking the railway station. This pub has now been converted into flats.
Source: Adrian Tulett
In 1909 the local Licensing Committee "considered that the Great Western was definitely the best public house north of the railway and admirably adapted as a station hotel. It was the only house north of the railway with a bathroom and flushing appliances for the outside conveniences". It was a popular haunt of young adults in the 1970s. There was a grassy bank outside which was a splendid place to enjoy the last sunlight of a summer evening. From 2004 to 2018 the pub was run by a succession of management companies and designated premises supervisors (aka landlords). One of the landlords went bankrupt and left the premises, another time one of the management companies stopped paying its bills and the electricity supply was cut off. A police report in 2006 alleged that the police assisted the fire service in clearing the premises because the fire doors had been screwed shut and also alleged that the CCTV system did not comply with licensing conditions. Throughout this period there were numerous complaints about noise, underage drinking, underage bar staff, drug dealing, drug use on the premises and violence (including a member of staff punching a customer). To be fair, press reports over this period showed that the last landlord joined a spnsored cycle ride to Paris in aid of the Williams Syndrome Foundation charity and also offered discounted parking spaces to commuters. It seems that one or two good deeds weren't enough though. Early in 2018 a review requested by the Hampshire Constabulary resulted in the pub's licence being revoked. The pub closed and stood empty for four years, during which time it became an "eyesore". In June 2022 approval was granted to convert it to residential apartments and a restaurant.
Peter Elliott (January 2023)
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Other Photos
Date of photo: 2022	Picture source: Google Streetview