The Odessa was once a pair of farmworkers’ cottages which was knocked together to form a beerhouse c.1845. It was first referred to as the Odessa in 1864. The pub is named after a bloody conflict in the Crimean War – the pub sign shows fully rigged English and French men o’war slugging it out against the Russians at Odessa during the opening gambit of the Crimean War in March 1854. How it actually got its name is a mystery but it is likely that it was named after an ex landlord / resident returning back home from the Crimean War.
Odessa is a port in south Ukraine which has taken on special significance in 2022 with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The landlord of the Odessa Inn between 1962 and 1982, Albert Hamblin, was a popular character. He served with the Gloucestershire Regiment and the Royal Engineers before becoming involved in the pub trade. At the Odessa Inn Albert kept pigs, sheep and goats. He was the treasurer of the Tewkesbury branch of the Licensed Victuallers’ Association for many years. He retired in 1982 to look after his wife Eileen who was terminally ill. Albert died in October 2003.
The Odessa Inn has sporadic opening times as it is essentially now a ‘hobby pub’. The pub has no dedicated website and there appears to be no social media activity.
This page will be updated with additional information.
Map Reference: SO 893298
Licensing Details:
Owner in 1891: John Arnold & Co., High Street, Wickwar
Rateable value in 1891: £26.0s.0d.
Type of licence in 1891: Alehouse
Owner in 1903: John Arnold & Co., High Street, Wickwar
Rateable value in 1903: £20.15s.0d.
Type of licence in 1903: Alehouse
Closing time in 1903: 11pm (unusual for its rural location)
Landlords at the Odessa include:
1864,1868 Thomas Jones
1891,1904 David Finch
1904-1917 Joseph Stallard
1917-1923 Lambert Barnes
1923-1924 Abel Jordan
1924-1935 Thomas Jordan
1935-1941 Percy J. Gibbs
1941 Raymond Walker
1962-1982 Albert Hamblin (died October 13th 2003)
1996 Graham and Julie Burton
