Dolphin Inn, Plymouth Explained

50.3671°N -4.1349°WThe Dolphin Hotel is a pub on the Barbican in Plymouth, England. The building, which is known as the Dolphin Hotel (never the Dolphin Inn) is a Grade II listed building.[1] It notable as the setting of several of the artist Beryl Cook's paintings.[2] [3]

The three storey building was constructed in the early 19th century, although it may contain fabric from an earlier structure. It has a slate mansard roof surrounded by a tall parapet with a moulded cornice. The front has white stucco with plaster reliefs of dolphins.[1] The pub is associated with the Tolpuddle Martyrs, some of whom stayed at the hotel on their return from exile in Australia in 1838, when a Mr Morgan was the landlord.[4] [5] [6] [7]

It is a no-frills unmodernised pub [2] famous for its cask ale, draught Bass served straight from the barrel.[8] It is listed in the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)'s Good Beer Guide[9] [10] and the 2008 Good Pub Guide. The sign on the front of the building has always called the pub the 'Dolphin Hotel'. In 2010 the pub was refurbished,[11] but vandalised in 2014.[12]

The pub also provided the setting for the BBC's poorly received animated Janner comedy series Bosom Pals, which was based on some of the characters in Cook's paintings and featured the voices of Dawn French as the lead character Stella, Alison Steadman as her best friend Joan, and Timothy Spall as the Dolphin's real-life landlord Billy Holmes.[13] [14] Billy Holmes has been the landlord of the pub since the 1990s when he took it over from his parents.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Dolphin Hotel. National Heritage List for England. Historic England. 14 August 2016.
  2. Is retail uplift putting extra fizz into city?, Western Morning News (Plymouth, England), 2 January 2007
  3. Web site: Beryl Cook: a Profile. BBC. 14 August 2016.
  4. Web site: Plymouth's Book of Wonder. Plymouth City Council. 14 August 2016. 21. https://web.archive.org/web/20160821152605/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/book_of_wonder.pdf. 21 August 2016. dead.
  5. Web site: Plymouth's Waterfront Walkway. Plymouth City Council. 14 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160821143609/http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/de/swcpbooklet.pdf. 21 August 2016. dead.
  6. News: Can you identify this Plymouth street from 1950s photograph?. 14 August 2016. The Herald. 3 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151109113153/http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/identify-Plymouth-street-1950s-photograph/story-27729610-detail/story.html. 9 November 2015. dead.
  7. Web site: The Homecoming. The Chartists. 14 August 2016. 85. https://web.archive.org/web/20160822180745/http://thechartists.org/assets/tolpuddle-martyrs-12-the-homecoming.pdf. 22 August 2016. dead.
  8. https://books.google.com/books?id=mKG2f5mN-VoC&dq=%22Beryl+Cook%22+Dolphin&pg=PT48 Football and Real Ale Guide Championship
  9. Web site: Dolphin Inn. Plymouth CAMRA. 5 July 2016.
  10. News: Which are the 10 best real ale pubs in Plymouth?. 5 July 2016. The Herald. 13 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151001052638/http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/10-best-real-ale-pubs-Plymouth/story-26492965-detail/story.html. 1 October 2015. dead.
  11. News: Barbican pub The Dolphin reopens after revamp. 14 August 2016. st Briton. 31 March 2010.
  12. News: Vandal admits smashing Plymouth Barbican pub windows with hammer. 14 August 2016. The Herald. 5 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140307065903/http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Vandal-admits-smashing-Barbican-pub-windows/story-20767742-detail/story.html. 7 March 2014. dead.
  13. Barbican Beryl to come home, Western Morning News, 11 December 1999
  14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/430603.stm Beryl bursts into TV
  15. News: As 'Plymouth' as the steps and the gin. 14 August 2016. West Briton. 29 March 2011.

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