Air Balloon (pub)

The pub was situated next to a roundabout junction with the A417, a major road between Swindon and Gloucester via Cirencester.[1] The A436 meets the A417 at this point; the two roads together form a de facto bypass of Cheltenham between Oxford and Gloucester.[2]

View of the pub from the A417

The pub opened in 1784 and is probably named after one of the first British balloon flights: the launching of a small hydrogen balloon by Edward Jenner on 2 September 1784, which flew from Berkeley Castle to Kingscote and then on to a field near Birdlip,[3][4] the year after the pioneering flights of the Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon and Jacques Charles's hydrogen balloon in Paris.[1] It was known as the Balloon by 1796 and renamed the Air Balloon in 1802.[5] By 1856, the landlord was brewing beer on-site.[1] The premises were part of the Cowley Manor Estate until some time early in the twentieth century. The pub was bought by Greene King in 2004.[6] In 2020 the menu included burgers, steaks, vegetarian food, "pub classics" and a lunchtime carvery.[7]

The pub was under threat of demolition as it sat alongside a short section of single-carriageway road which is otherwise a high-quality route between the M4 and M5 motorways.[8][9] Although the junction has been said to be a notorious accident blackspot; from 1999 to 2014 there were an estimated 340 casualties along the whole section of road and National Highways said was below average for the type of road.[10]

In March 2019, Highways England proposed improvements that would include demolition of the pub.[11][12] Highways England has ruled out a junction at the Air Balloon as the local geography and steep hills nearby would make it impossible to build a high-quality road meeting modern safety standards.[13] The road could not be routed anywhere else as it would cut through Barrow Wake, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[14] Highways England stated that it would talk to landowners and assess the social impact of the pub's demolition in a further design stage.[15] As of June 2021, the pub was open, but still expected to be demolished.[16] The landlord subsequently announced in December 2022 that the pub would close on New Year's Eve, and then it will be demolished.[17][18]

Actor John Challis' widow said the couple used to visit the pub regularly, and she was sad to see it close.[19]

A spokesperson for Highways England expressed surprise at the pub's closure, saying it could have stayed open longer. There are additional concerns that a now-closed prominent landmark could become a magnet for vandalism.[20]

Citations

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Air Balloon, Birdlip.

• Official website

51°50′36″N 02°05′48″W