Stroud's Imperial Hotel - and its neighbours

Stroud's Imperial Hotel - and its neighbours The Imperial Hotel, designed by Benjamin Bucknall and renamed Stroud Hotel in 2022, had several fascinating changes in its journey to being the town centre's only surviving hotel. Its prime position opposite the railway station helped its success, as did the hotel's extremely competent early managers Mrs Wade and then her daughter Mrs Lawson. The hotel's owners, managers and their families all have stories; others nearby also have a tale to tell, like a station master who had more than his fair share of misfortune. The hotel's original neighbours have changed beyond recognition – did you know that there was once a garage on Station Road? So this thoroughly-researched book also has stories of that garage, the town's early street markets, the Railway Hotel and what is now Stroud House. Original documents and old pictures give fascinating details about all these buildings and there are dramatic newspaper reports of fire, explosion and scandal. Old adverts are also informative, but most of the ones for staff would not be allowed today. The final chapter on architect Benjamin Bucknall tells of his work at Woodchester Mansion, St Rose's Convent, a house in Beeches Green and later in Algiers. The chapter includes new research about Bucknall's local family, and the branch that settled in Australia before the 1850s gold rush.