Pubs transformed into eating palaces
A few weeks ago I wrote about the many pubs in the Somerstown and St Pancras areas of Chichester and noted many have been demolished or are now private houses.
I also referred to the Wellington in the Broyle, which is now a restaurant (Comme Ca), and almost unrecognisable from this old photograph!
I speculated there might be other restaurants in the city that were once pubs.
The most obvious candidate is the White Horse, which has a distinguished history and has been recorded as a pub since the 16th century.
Situated on the corner of South Street and West Pallant, it is now Prezzo's and this 1968 photograph was taken as part of a Chichester Camera Club survey of the four main streets in the city.
A number of incidents, and information relating to the history of the White Horse, are recorded in Chichester, A Documentary History by Roy Morgan and Some Inns and Alehouses of Chichester by Mervyn Cutten.
It is first referred to by name in 1533 and Roy Morgan notes that at a Sussex coroner's inquest on September 10 of that year, William Skinner (alias Hobson), who had been drinking and making trouble in the White Horse Inn, was later killed by Edward Holland.
Mervyn Cutten records the inn was the meeting place for masonic lodges, a shopkeepers' group known as the Tradesmen's Club, and, later, a cycling group.
In 1670 the undercroft of the Vicar's Hall on the opposite side of the street was known as the White Horse cellar but although a 1960s postcard advertising the pub claims there was a tunnel running under the street to the crypt, I can find no other evidence for this!
Compared with much of the rest of Chichester, South Street was never well-endowed with inns and pubs. However, another restaurant (Trents) now occupies the building that was previously the Hogs Head and, for many years before that, the King's Head.
The King's Head is, like the White Horse, on the east side of South Street and now has an archway leading to a yard and an outside area.
However, in this photograph of the pub decorated for the 1953 Coronation, the double doors are shown firmly closed to the public.
The licensee at this time was George A Brewer (the name is just readable above the door).
The King's Head was recorded as a pub from the mid-18th century and one of the landlords, Henry Fogden, was licensee from 1804 until at least 1840. He was also a well-known local watch and clock maker.
To return to the Wellington, it would appear that during the 19th century it had a number of Wellington-related names. In 1813 it was known as the Lord Wellington and in 1839 the Wellington Arms, but by 1839 it was the Duke of Wellington. I am not sure when it became simply The Wellington.
The early 20th century photograph does not show the pub sign and the name is not painted on the front. The only indication that it is a pub is the word 'Bar' inscribed on two of the windows.
These three restaurants I have mentioned were all once pubs but there may be others people can remember.
In my last article I also mentioned many buildings that were once pubs are now private houses and the same could be said for many off-licences.
These photographs show the Nursery Arms pub on the corner of Orchard Street and Chapel Street, and John's Off-Licence on the corner of Caledonian Road and Lyndhurst Road. John's was later known as Seddon's off-licence for many years before it became a private house.
The photograph is particularly interesting because it shows an advertisement on the side of the building for Poole's Picture Palace, the forerunner of the Granada Cinema.
One pub and off-licence still in existence is the Old Cross in North Street. It is unrecognisable in this 1926 photograph that shows the new landlord, James Woolf Hosgood, standing outside.
He had just moved in, together with his wife Phoebe and children Doris, James Jnr and Ivy. However, their stay was to be cut short as the following year the brewery decided to completely rebuild the pub.
The family moved out and, unfortunately, James died of septicemia in the Royal West Sussex Hospital in June 1927.
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Weather for Chichester
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
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