Ship Inn, Brimscombe

The Ship Inn is believed to date from around 1750, making it older than both the Thames & Severn Canal and Brimscombe Port, which were to have such an influence on the development of the surrounding area.

The canal was completed in 1789, providing a link between the River Severn and the Thames. Brimscombe Port was established as a crucial transhipment point because the larger Severn Trows, which navigated the western section of the canal, were too wide to pass through the narrower locks further east. Cargoes were transferred to smaller Thames barges for the onward journey towards London, and the port developed into a major centre of commercial activity, complete with warehouses, wharves and basin facilities.

Situated immediately opposite the port, the Ship would have been ideally placed to serve boatmen, merchants and local workers. Samuel Butler was recorded as landlord in 1830. An 1841 Gloucester Journal advertisement subsequently offered the premises for sale on behalf of Mrs Sarah Butler, who was retiring due to ill health. The advertisement described a substantial establishment with a large garden, stables, brewhouse and extensive cellaring.

By 1891, the Ship was owned by Stroud Brewery, having previously been associated with Smith's Brimscombe Brewery. Recorded landlords around the turn of the century included members of the Philpotts family, followed by Robert John Larkin and Harry Lusty.

The pub's name is traditionally associated with the Severn Trows that once carried goods along the River Severn and the western section of the canal. One of these distinctive vessels is depicted on the pub sign, serving as a reminder of Brimscombe's trading past.

The arrival of the railway in 1845 and subsequent improvements in road transport gradually undermined the canal's commercial importance. The last loaded boat passed through to the Thames in 1911, and the port eventually fell into disuse, with much of the original basin filled in after the Second World War.

The Ship survived this decline. In February 2017, Stroud District Council purchased the pub to safeguard it as part of plans for the regeneration of Brimscombe Port and the restoration of the Cotswold Canals. Following refurbishment, it reopened under a new tenancy in July 2021.

Today, it stands as a tangible link with Brimscombe's industrial heritage, occupying its historic position beside the canal.