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The White Hart Hotel Brislington Hill seen here in 1899.

The Bath service ran till the early 1930’s when they operated the direct bus service from Bristol to Bath - the old 33 route. People felt very loyal to the trains - they were reliable and people knew they could walk up to the tram stop and the tram would be along in a matter of minutes.

Local historian Jonathan Rowe looks back at the history of Brisligton's oldest pub

Brislington once boasted four pubs, not to mention two long vanished hostelries – the George Inn and the Black Dog and Star – both of which flourished in the 18th century.

The Hollybush was lost to flats some three years ago and now it appears that the White Hart too will close to become the new HQ for the Bristol School of Performing Arts.

This leaves villagers with just the King’s Arms and The Pilgrim in Hollywood Road, happily saved from closure last year.

Built as a coaching inn on the main Bristol to Bath road in 1738, the White Hart may even have replaced an earlier hostelry on the same site.

In days gone by this part of the A4 was sometimes referred to as “White Hart Hill”.

The White Hart became popular as a pub name after it had been adopted by Richard the Second as his badge in about 1390.

The inn sign often showed a hart (deer) wearing a golden collar and chain. In the 18th century the pub was a venue for bare knuckle prize fighting as well as meetings of the church vestry (a forerunner of the local council)

In fact meetings of St Luke’s Parochial Church Council were still being held here in the 1980s.

An area at the back of the pub, known as “The Green,” was once the location a 18th century parish poor house where the “inmates” were set to work picking oakum.

In Edwardian times this became a bowling green and was still being grazed by donkeys in the 1960s before being paved over for the present car park.

A distinctive ornate portico which once graced the pub’s entrance was sadly demolished after being damaged by a lorry in the 1920s.

One of the earliest recorded landlords was James Gunner whose name appears in local street directories in 1812.

A few years later the White Hart is believed to have been the site of Brislington’s very first post office.

Over its long history many events, both local and national, have been celebrated here

Like many pubs it has, over the years, experienced rowdy and unsociable behaviour.

During World War II a fight broke out here between British soldiers and American GIs who were billeted in the village.

On a happier note many annual dinners for local sports organisations, such as Brislington Cricket Club and Brislington Rifle Club, were held at the White Hart.

In 1863 the local gentry and farmers sat down to a feast here as part of the celebrations for the Royal Wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later Edward VII and Queen Alexandra).

An oak tree planted to commemorate the occasion in nearby fields still survives. (It now stands by the “Proper Job” store in Warrington Road)

Although it is sad to see the last days of the White Hart as a pub it is good to see it has a positive future at a time when the days of the traditional British pub appear to be numbered.

Having seen a dearth of demolition in the village in recent years it is good to see that the White Hart will at least not meet that same, sad, fate.

So very happy.

I've been grinning like an idiot all afternoon. I did it! I got the job that I've been trying to get for the last 10 months. I am now a tour leader with a grass-roots, adventure-based travel company. No five star tours for me! It's staying at local hotels, camping, and cruising down the Nile. The company actually does run a couple five star tours, but being western, I won't be leading them (it's far more expensive to put us up in the 5 stars than the local leaders).

And yes, I even got my location - I'm headed back to the Middle East - based in Egypt. I don't officially start in Egypt until July 21st, but now that I know I have the job, I can be patient. And there is some training here in England at the beginning of June.

I feel like I'm going to burst!