Historic Pub Linked to Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe Threatened with Closure After 350 Years

For the past 350 years, the Llandoger Trow pub in Bristol has been providing punters with cold beers and a cozy atmosphere, but all that has changed since the establishment closed it doors, possibly for good, on Saturday night. The British hospitality company Whitbread owns the building and is selling it, but it’s age and the cost of renovations means it may not attract a buyer for some time.

As The Guardian reports, the pub’s closure comes as concerns grow over the increasing rate of closures of drinking establishments as cost pressures and business rate increases sees more and more pubs closing their doors. The Llandoger Trow originally opened for business near Welsh Back, an area of the harbourside that took in boats from south Wales, back in 1664.

The pub’s first landlord was a man named Captain Hawkins, who took up the position after retiring from sailing trows. The pub was originally part of a building also home to basket makers, tobacconists and grocers, but it grew and expanded over the years. The story goes that Daniel Defoe met Alexander Selkirk, who is thought to have inspired the character of Robinson Crusoe, in the pub. While it’s impossible to say for sure, the sea captain  Woodes Rogers, who rescued Selkirk, did indeed own a house very near to the establishment.

It is also thought that Louis Stevenson based the pub in Treasure Island, the Admiral Benbow, on the Trow. It’s even speculated that the infamous pirate Blackbeard drank there. It is certainly true that many famous thespians have enjoyed a drink or two there, as The Bristol Old Vic is just a stone’s throw away. The pub is so old that it’s even supposedly home to no less than 15 ghosts.

Whitbread has stated that it hopes that the buildings future owners do continue to run it as a pub. “We understand the Trow is a much-loved Bristol landmark and it is being marketed as a going concern. The sale of course means the site will no longer be owned by Whitbread, but we remain absolutely committed to the Bristol community,” said a spokesperson for Whitbread.

Sheila Hannon, a local who’s theatre company, Show of Strength, takes visitors on walking tours called Blood, Blackbeard and Buccaneers, expressed her concern over the pub’s closure. “You can almost see the frock coats, the peg legs, the parrots and the press gangs. It’s terrible to think that this pub may be lost.”

People taking Hannon’s tour used to stop for a drink, but from now on they will only be able to look upon it from the outside. “There’s so much of Bristol’s heritage, so many stories tied up with this pub,” she said.