Thursday 14 August 2008

CHURCH PUB #1 - CLOISTERS

This building on the corner of Meadowside and Bell Street, was Dundee's first church to be converted into a pub.
Sometime around the early 80's it opened as Cloisters.
The top photo shows the main doorway on Meadowside, which was directly opposite Foreigners.
The middle picture is a shot of the interior, which was taken from the raised floor area where bands sometimes used to play.
I recall seeing Altres play there in the mid 80's - complete with eye-catching slide show!
The pub interior was very spacious, with the bar plonked dead centre and despite how roomy it was, Fridays & Saturdays were still usually choc-a-block.
I remember they sold "venison burgers" and I jokingly commented to the bar staff that they were a bit too dear (deer!).
The third picture was the pub's other doorway situated in Bell Street.
Later around the mid 80's it changed its name to Gabriels, then in its final years became known as the Café Club Bar, until the place was destroyed by fire in June 1991.
The original building itself now no longer exists.
Viewing it again though after 3 decades, I reckon it could have made a perfect pub for Goths!
Below, is a tiny moment of footage showing how Meadowside looked in 1980 - church left, Foreigners (black frontage) right.
 
Exterior photos by DC Thomson.
Interior shot by The Bear.

2 comments:

  1. I absolutely loved Gabriel's 😍

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  2. My first love and I spent many a foolish evening at Cloisters.

    I came back from Canada to see Cloisters, only to find out that it had been burnt down “accidentally” 😉 and a dreadful building had been put in its place as student housing for nurses.

    Heartbroken!

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