About - The Grapes, Bath

History of 14 Westgate Street

Originally built as a townhouse for the wealthy to take the waters, 14 Westgate Street is one of the few remaining Elizabethan buildings left in the city. The first tenant, Richard Gay was Mayor of Bath at least five times, as well as an MP, a coroner and other important positions at the time. In less than a century however, the wealthy decided to move above the squalor and pollution of the centre, preferring instead to start to occupy what are now Bath’s famous crescents higher up on the hills surrounding the city.

By 1694, the house is depicted as one of the cities principle lodging houses run by a Ms. Pocock, hence the name of our BnB today, Pococks Lodgings where the rooms are now named after other notable female residents of Bath. At some time over the course of the next century, the house was broken up further with numerous businesses being run from here and was certainly a vinters by the mid C18th, with the first known recording of The Grapes appearing in 1792.

14 and 15 Westgate Street_Michael Paul Lewis copy

Who we are

In 2018, Ellie and John Leiper discovered The Grapes while John was in the city doing his rounds for a local micro-brewery. Boarded up for three years and unloved for decades, the couple soon found out that the pub was in danger of being lost forever, as a well-known fried chicken brand were trying to take over the bar and the upper floors were earmarked for student accommodation.

In a race against the clock, they put in an offer for the building to retain it as a bar and bring back the BnB element of the business. Gutted from basement to roof, with collapsed ceilings and only a transformer and some site lighting left, they set to work transforming the building working every day for months before opening the doors in August 2019, mere months before the Covid pandemic took hold. In December, the city held it’s famous Christmas Market, proceeds from which held the couple financially over the course of the pandemic. Today, The Grapes is a thriving freehouse, music venue and community space serving a wide range of locally produced craft beers, real ales, wines and spirits to locals, hospitality staff, tourists and students alike.

Meet the Team

Our General Manager, Ellie Burton deals with the day to day running of the bar as well as coordinating our music and events. Coming to us as an experienced stage manager and musician, and having recently completed her Masters in Events Management when she’s not sorting out gigs or working behind the bar, she’s regularly found cooing over the latest pooch to enter the building

Gone are the days of the Cellar Goblins and Ellie is also the person to speak to about stocking real ales or other new products – the more local, the better as we don’t go for in for big brands too much round here.

To get in touch with Ellie e: hello@thegrapesbath.co.uk

Marketing is carried out by Dan Lewis-Jones, who is also our resident playwright when he’s not managing local the community arts venue Burdall’s Yard. If you want to collaborate with us on anything, are looking for a story or want to know anything more e: marketing@thegrapesbath.co.uk

For everything else, the landlady Ellie (another Ellie, yes) will get back to you about new ideas, socials up in the living room or the more mundane, such as accounts and she can be contacted at e: ellie@thegrapesbath.co.uk

Join Us

We’re a pretty diverse bunch at The Grapes and have a range of staff including full timers and part time academics, looking to supplement student loans. As such, things can change quite fast depending on deadlines and exams and we’re often absolutely fine for staff one week, then desperate for a few more the next.

The Grapes is quite laid back during the day where the majority of tasks and admin gets done but can get rather hectic at night, so if you think you’ve got what it takes to be part of our team and have a thick enough skin to be working in a city centre pub, fill out our application form and attach a CV and we may well be in touch quite soon.