Abolitionism, barmaids in basques, live music and championing local beer. 400 years in the life of

The Seven Stars.

Seven Stars with next door’s scaffolding

There are many pubs in Bristol that wear the badge marked ‘Historic Hostelry’ with the pride of an old soldier displaying his medals. Enthusiastic apocryphers of the city’s heritage will tell you The Llandoger Trow was where Daniel Defoe met Alexander Selkirk and got the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe (not true, though the pub was open in those days); and that the Hole In The Wall at the corner of Queen Square was the inspiration for The Spyglass Inn in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (no evidence to support this either), and of a whole host of other, genuinely historic bars and pubs all across the City.

History explained

One of the tales that does have some validity, however, surrounds The Seven Stars in Thomas Lane. It’s been a pub since at least 1600, and played host to one Thomas Clarkson, a key figure in the abolition of slavery, while he carried out his research interviews in the late 1780s.

Click here for a detailed account of Clarkson’s time in Bristol, but the gist is that the then landlord of the Seven Stars helped him to speak to people involved in the slave trade, and thus put together the evidence that was later used to successfully bring about the end of the Slave Trade in 1807. There is a blue plaque outside the pub these days, which commemorates Clarkson’s visits and the Seven Stars’ role in bringing about significant social change.

Thomas Clarkson – Abolitionist and Regular

Some 200 years after Clarkson’s visits, my first recollection of the Seven Stars is from the late 1980s, when a blackboard outside the pub proudly advertised ‘Barmaids in Basques!’. Now, there’s a jolly clever comparison to be made there I’m sure. Something about the ruthless exploitation of human beings for money continuing 200 years after Thomas Clarkson; but I was in my late teens and the sight of a woman’s bare shoulder made me come over all unnecessary. These days I’d just worry that she’d catch her death of cold, poor thing…

Inevitable interior photo taken through a mirror

But what of the 2014 Seven Stars? Well, it’s a good old fashioned ‘boozer’. Bare floorboards around a single ‘L’ shaped bar, where once there were two. The walls are adorned with artwork, old photographs, a jazz corner, and numerous displays touching on the history of the place. Not just Clarkson, but replicas of old pub signs, the pub’s association with the original Bristol Porter Brewery, which was in Bath Street long before even George’s, let alone Courage.

There’s a pool table and dartboard which, to be honest, look dangerously close to one another. My guess is the two games are rarely played at the same time, and then not for long.

Music plays an important role here, with a series of acoustic sets featured throughout March. At other times, the jukebox ensures there is never that eerie silence that sometimes overtakes pubs during quieter spells. The music isn’t too loud, but as Shazamed below it’s an eclectic mix that adds to the delightfully bohemian, almost grungy feel to the place. It’s as if the pub has had a shower, for cleanliness sake, but if you expect it to comb its hair and put a decent shirt on, forget it!

Music Shazam’d At The Seven Stars

Nightwish: Feel For You: Hear on Youtube or buy on iTunes.
OutKast: Ms Jackson: See on Youtube or buy on iTunes.
The Specials: Nite Klub: Hear on Youtube or buy on iTunes.
Tony Tribe: Red Red Wine: Hear on Youtube or buy on iTunes.
Turin Brakes: Over And Over: See on Youtube or buy on iTunes.
The Who: The Real Me: Hear on Youtube or buy on iTunes.

The beer selection is exceptional. Eight ever changing real ales, with local independent breweries heavily featured, plus a couple of traditional ciders. Cheddar Ales Totty Pot is a dark ruby porter, with a premium strength of 4.5% abv. Porters like this, with their mix of chocolate, roasted coffee and malt, are the tastier, grungier cousins of stouts like Guinness and Murphy’s. Also on offer were The Bristol Beer Factory’s Independence Ale, an American style pale ale that’s hoppier than Bugs Bunny trying to get a stone out of his shoe; The Two Cocks Brewery in Newbury’s 1643 Roundhead Bitter, a 4.2% old school best bitter; and Byatt’s XK Strong, brewed in Coventry, at 4.9% it’s like Byatt’s XK Dark mild beer, but its spent a lot more time in the gym.

Obligatory arty picture of a pint

The Seven Stars is a simple, informal but friendly pub offering really good beer and good music. A bit unkempt, possibly, but if you like your pubs raw rather than branded and homogenised, unspoiled rather than modernised, it is well worth seeking out.

Measuring the Pub against random criteria:
Daytime Ambience: Mix of music and conversation very relaxing… 4/5
Toilets: Clean enough… 3/5
Beer/Drink: Eight varying beers in lush condition… 5/5
Jukebox/Music: Worth a quid and a random search!… 4/5

Seven Stars, Bristol official website.

Disclaimer: All review visits are carried out anonymously where possible, and no money or payment in kind is accepted in return for a positive review.

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