Patrons' Backlash
Historic Tavern Welcomes Naturists Despite Complaints
The Railway Tavern in Burnham-on-Sea, near Bristol, England, has a rich history, dating back to 1841. Originally known by its street name, Tyning Lane, the owner, William Milson, renamed it Masons’ Arms in 1851.
William Milson fell down the cellar stairs at the pub and died on May 9, 1871. The inn passed to his widowed daughter, Sarah Smith Haskins, who remarried in 1873, to Andrew Fidler, who took over the operation. When Tyning Lane was renamed Station Road in 1881, Andrew changed the business name to the Railway Inn.
Andrew Fidler died in 1893, and the pub returned to Sarah. By 1901, it was known as the Railway Hotel.
Today it goes by both the Railway Inn and the Railway Tavern. The current owners “welcome everyone’s individuality and differences” — and that got them into some trouble.
A nude couple, Neil Cox, 34, and Danielle Quiggan, 35, who had casually walked through Clifton Downs and along the Harbourside, entered the Railway Tavern for beer and burgers. They had checked with the inn ahead of time to make sure they would be welcomed.
According to Neil, “It was a new place and people were not expecting it and there was an element of surprise when we first walked in. We sat in the corner of the pub and had our meal. People quickly went back to their drinks and got on with their day. After all, two naked people sitting in a corner of a pub having a beer and burger quickly becomes boring. Several people came over to us whilst we were there to have a chat and ask questions or request a photo.”
Not all of the customers were so accepting. Soon they were posting their discontent on TripAdvisor, with one woman writing, “We expected the bar man to refuse to serve them. There were several families with children in the pub, including ourselves, therefore it was not appropriate for them to be served. We decided to leave the pub and find somewhere else for dinner in town. Unfortunately another family were not able to as they had already ordered food. If you advertise as a family pub you should maintain these values. Locals who frequent the pub apologised to us, but the staff seemed to think this was okay. Very disappointing.”