The Hatchet Inn is an historic public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

 situated on Frogmore Street, Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 a few minutes walk from the city centre. The name is thought to originate from the axes/hatchets that the local woodsmen used in Clifton

Clifton, Bristol

Clifton is a suburb of the City of Bristol in England, and the name of both one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells...

 Woods.

It dates from 1606 but has undergone significant alteration since and is a grade II listed building.

Since the 1980s the Hatchet has long been associated as one of Bristols few Alternative

Alternative lifestyle

An alternative lifestyle is a lifestyle generally perceived to be outside the cultural norm. Usually, but not always, it implies an affinity or identification within some matching subculture...

pubs and remains popular with followers of alternative lifestyles. The pub has a pool room located upstairs as well as a venue which is used for clubs and can be hired for private bookings. There is a beer garden located on the side of the property, facing the O2 Academy venue.

Located behind the pub was the old Cannon Cinema, which closed down in 2000. The building is now an Academy Night Club/gig venue were many well known bands have played.

• There are regular DJs on Friday and Saturday evenings.

• In the 18th Century there was a Rat Pitt at the rear of the building.

• Local legend has it that the front door, beneath the paint and tar is covered with human skin.

• Like many listed buildings the pub is allegedly to be haunted, particularly in the old cellars and the older parts of the building.

• In September 2006 the Hatchet celebrated its 400 year anniversary. The streets nearby were closed, staff and some regular customers dressed up in historic costumes.