Originally it housed a club for mercantile interests and during the mid-19th century it was a haunt of local prostitutes.

The retained wind vane[1] above the bar would let merchants know whether it was safe for their ships to negotiate the treacherous Avon Gorge, and the wall boards still contain the names of all the club's presidents, treasurers and secretaries.

[2] The first formal site for businessmen to meet in Bristol was the Tolzey in 1614 which was built onto the south wall of All Saints' Church.

[3] After the Bristol Blitz in the Second World War conservation and restoration work was needed inside and out due to bomb damage, including recreating the head of one of the statues on the roof.

The portico is of the Grecian Ionic order, with the three statues above personifying the City, Commerce and Navigation.