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The Famous Naval Volunteer
Hi-Light :-
There is no doubt that ships’ captains of all sorts would have
used the Pub as their local. The most famous Bristol privateer of all time,
Captain Woodes Rogers, lived round the corner at No. 19 Queen Square where in
1702 he acquired a lease, "to build a substantial mansion
house" in the new square. It was Woodes Rogers who made for the island of Juan
Fernandez to escape a storm.
There he was surprised to find a man dressed in goatskins who had been marooned
for four years. This man, Alexander Selkirk ( of Robinson Crusoe fame), was brought to Bristol where he
remained for some years. Woodes Rogers himself became rich and rented the Bahama
Islands, appointing himself their Governor. The Bahamas were at that time a nest
of pirates and included another infamous Bristolian, Captain ‘Blackbeard’ Teach,
among its two thousand villains.
Checkered Past
The Volley or Naval as it is locally known has witnessed many historic
days and played host to many Famous and Infamous characters, here is a brief
history of the surrounding area and its place in Bristol's past.
Building began on this marshland area outside the mediaeval Castle and City
walls in 1650 by the permission of the city fathers on an area "Weare's house to
the Marsh Gate". It was named King street in 1660 to mark the Restoration of the
Monarchy. Soon the Old Library was built, probably one of the earliest public
reading rooms, two Almshouses, and the gabled ale houses and tenements of which
The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer is a fine example. Recent television costume
dramas have been filmed using The Volunteer as a backdrop and the interior as
period settings. The function rooms are designed along the lines of
captain's cabin's on a sailing ship.
Sailors And Soldiers
Tall ships came in and out of Bristol trading slaves (to our shame), sugar,
tobacco and bananas. The skilled sailors and dock workers made the merchants and
city wealthy. The spirit of adventure lured young men to take their chance on
the oceans and in the ale houses of Kings street Captains and Bo' suns of
merchant vessels and privateers signed up their crews with promises of exotic
sights or share of the profits.
The Army and Navy recruited in the bars and the glass bottom tankards came
into being its said so that a drinker would see if a recruiting officer had
dropped the "Kings Shilling" in his beer. The custom was if a man drank from a
tankard with a shilling in then he had signed up for a service in the Army or
Navy. Press gangs would kidnap men by force or when they were drunk in taverns
and march them on board ship.
From the 17th century until they were stopped by "The Declaration of Paris"
in 1856 Privateers with a "Letter of Marques" (a license from the Government)
plundered enemy ships on the high seas for their cargo. Many Privateers, who
could make huge fortunes if they were lucky or ruthless enough, operated out of
Bristol. One of the most famous was Woodes Rogers who lived behind the Famous
Royal Navy Volunteer in Queens Square near the Custom House.
HERE ARE SOME LINKS TO INFORMATION ON THE HISTORY OF BRISTOL
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/citybristol/history_city.html
http://www.bristol-link.co.uk/history/
http://www.level-bristol.co.uk/history.php
http://www.bristolslostpubs.com/page220.html
For More Information Contact:
The Famous Navy Volunteer
17-18 King Street Bristol BS1 4EF
Tel: 01179291763
FAX: 01179291763
Internet:
Landlord@navalvolunteer.co.uk | 
