Roebuck inn pub Ruardean Woodside (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Sunday, November 19, 2017, 17:55 (2562 days ago) @ MPGriffiths

Hi Bubble,
sadly I think you'll struggle to find photos of the Roebuck online.
Probably the best online source for local pub histories is Geoff Sandles' excellent GlosPubs site, but even he doesn't appear to have any photos, he unusually states "Do any old photographs exist of the Roe Buck?, if so please let Geoff know"
This particular pub’s page is one of the few that can be accessed direct from a link,
http://www.gloucestershirepubs.co.uk/AllGlosPubsDatabase/RAIGConnection.php?pubid1=1230

In more recent years Geoff's written a couple of books about local pubs, so his website may be a little out of date. I have found him more than happy to exchange emails especially if helping to update his site, which you might be able to do, so I strongly recommend you contact him via his website. If you do please mention this forum, I know he's been a contributor in the past.

Sadly all my pub reference books are in storage while our prolonged house-move drags along, so I cannot look them up. These include both Geoff's books plus Heather Hurley’s excellent "Pubs of the Royal FoD", if you live in the Forest you may want to try and look them up in local librairies. Another book is "Highest Point of Dean" published in 1985 by Maurice V Bent, which is a history of Ruardean hill, I don't recall whether it covers Ruardean Woodside too. Maurice is a keen local historian and now the Forest's Verderer, so contacting him could be worth your while. He still lives in his home area of Ruardean Hill, Drybrook Glos, which I'm sure will be an adequate address if you write to him, see.
http://www.theforestreview.co.uk/article.cfm?id=983&headline=Maurice,%2074,%20is%20...

There are a number of old photos websites including this forum's, but I don't recall seeing a photo of the Roebuck. I think the same applies to the various excellent (albeit sadly un-indexed) books by Humphrey Phelps, apologies again for my not being able to check my copies.
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/ruardean/
http://www.forestprints.co.uk/ruardean.htm
https://www.sungreen.co.uk/Cinderford/_Cinderford_Page_2.html
http://www.archive-images.co.uk/index.gallery.php?gid=143
http://www.archive-images.co.uk/gallery/Archive-Images-of-the-Forest-of-Dean-Coalfield/

Several old maps are available on this excellent Scottish website, the Roebuck is clearly marked at the centre of this one from 1953.
http://maps.nls.uk/view/101570475

Finally I recommend writing an open letter to local papers "The Forester" and it's sister the "Review". If space permits the editor may publish your letter, and hopefully readers will share their own photos or memories of the pub.
http://www.theforester.co.uk/contact.cfm
http://www.theforestreview.co.uk/contact.cfm

PS in case it helps here's a link to the old forum thread that MPG referred to.
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?mode=thread&id=37248

PPS I've just noticed the Sungreen site carries a few photos of a Roebuck Rovers Football team that I'd not noticed before, I wonder if this last one was taken outside the pub which was presumably their headquarters ?
https://www.sungreen.co.uk/Ruardean/Roe-Buck-Rovers-1951.htm