During the 1700s there were two ‘Talbots’ in the town. The first was a small drinking establishment in North Street, below the churchyard and accessed from a small back alley off Monmouth Lane. The inn is believed to have been named after the Talbot family who ran it and whose crest was the Talbot dog. The other was a substantially sized coaching inn probably in Fore Street although the exact location has not been proven.
The next Talbot was a very grand hotel at the top of North Street built in 1817 by Lord Edgcumbe. The Talbot Hotel became known as the Royal Talbot Hotel after the visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1846. The impressive building became the venue for balls, dinners, concerts and public meetings as well as being a coaching inn. The stables for the coaches and horses were across Queen Street and on the corner of Duke Street.
By 1936 a new by pass had been approved to make a road from Queen Street to the top of Grenville Road. The only access at this time to the east or west of the county was up or down Bodmin Hill or Duke Street and the narrow St Austell Hill through Fore Street and North Street over the railway line and up or down Grenville Road. To make it possible for the new road the very large hotel had to be demolished to widen Queen Street for two way traffic. As the motor car was becoming fashionable the stables were no longer in demand so it was decided to build a new hotel in the stable grounds alongside the Wesley Chapel.
The Royal Talbot Hotel opened before the outbreak of WW2 with a small car park opposite on the site of the kitchens of the previous hotel. The new by pass soon followed in September 1939, named Liddicoat Road after Mr A.S. Liddicoat, the Lostwithiel born Chairman of Cornwall County Council who performed the opening ceremony. Although an impressive new building it was not as grand as the previous hotel but still held it status at the time as ‘the best hotel in town’. Hunt balls, wedding receptions, dinners and dances were regular events in the wood panelled ballroom with the adjoining cocktail bar. The saloon bar was on the opposite side of the hallway with its impressive staircase which led to the owner’s apartment and guests’ bedrooms.The public bar was accessed further up Duke Street through the side passage around the back of the hotel as was the gents’ toilet.
By the 1960s the saloon bar became the public bar and a popular, smaller, alternative dining area was created behind this bar known as ‘The Buttery’. Further down past the staircase was the ladies’ room and further on led to the large hotel kitchen. The old public bar became the wine cellar. During this time the Wesley Chapel was demolished and the large site became the hotel car park. The smaller car park opposite was sold for housing in the 1990s.
Due to ever changing demands the hotel underwent major changes in the 1980s with the ballroom and cocktail bar being changed in to a large lounge bar and the buttery changed into an extension of the public bar. During the 1990s the staircase was removed and the public bar changed into a restaurant.
2009. The Royal Talbot is now under new management and further changes are taking place to meet new demands from today’s clientele.
Information from Lostwithiel Museum.
