The quirky venue opened in 2017
Clockwork Rose exterior
Bristol’s first and only Steampunk bar is set to close its doors for good this month.
The Clockwork Rose on St Stephens Street in the city centre made an announcement via its Instagram page, in which co-owner Kit Stutt wrote: “A message to all our Steampunks & Patrons.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that The Clockwork Rose will be closing its doors permanently with our last day being Saturday 14th June, on International Steampunk Day.”Dani & I would like to sincerely thank everyone that has been by our side during this adventure. It has been absolutely fantastic! We hope to see you all over the next few weeks as we serve up the last of the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters and polish off the Infinity Rum!”We’re also going to be bringing back some of our favourite cocktails over the years for a special Victory Lap menu, so keep an eye out for that as we bring our story to a close.”Incredible amounts of love to you all, and a huge thank you once again. To paraphrase the final words of Christopher Eccleston’s 9th Doctor ‘You were fantastic, and d’you know what? So were we!'”
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Opening back in 2017, The Clockwork Rose is described as being the fictional watering hole of the adventurer Captain Sebastian Commodore.
According to the quirky venue’s official website: “When Captain Commodore would return to England he and the crew of his airship, The Nautimore, would gather at The Clockwork Rose to tell the tales of their travels. We have recreated these accounts into cocktails for all to enjoy.
“You never know, one day Sebastian Commodore may return to tell more stories.”
The idea for the venue came about in 2015 when the team had ‘a vision of creating a welcoming Steampunk cocktail bar’ for the local community. Just weeks after their wedding in 2017, co-owners Kit and Dani say they were “stripping decades old wallpaper off the walls and installing the plumbing and electricity”.
The bar’s decorative artefacts were all rescued and restored from local second-hand shops, and the centrepiece bar which was designed to look like two large gears was built by a local reclamation yard using wood from an old school laboratory.
Since then, the venue has been known for its unusual cocktail concoctions, menus filled with ‘Steampunk fun and whimsy’ and a variety of events.
‘A loss to the Bristol cocktail scene’
Taking to the comments section, fans were quick to share their sadness after the post was shared on May 22.
One said: “Noooo. So sad to hear this. Will be in soon. Can’t wait to see what wonderful things you create next. Good luck with whatever the future holds.”
A second wrote: “This is a true loss to the Bristol cocktail scene. One of a kind.
“I hope that you will come back with a new venture in the near future as you have such a loyal following. Thoughts are with you at this time.”
A third commented: “I’m really sad to hear this news. This was my favourite bar in Bristol! Made the best negroni and I loved all the paintings on the wall. So sorry to hear this.”
While a fourth added: “So, so much love to you all. Thank you for creating one of my favourite places ever.
“We will be forever grateful for the creativity, the joy, the thought and care that you bring to all you do. We’ll see you before this story ends, but will be devastated to say farewell.”
And a fifth simply wrote: “My heart. It breaks.”