The Last of the Locomotive Inn, Littlehampton - Once a “House” of Repute in Sussex

The Locomotive Inn, as its name suggests, was next to the town’s railway station in Terminus Road and served for much of its life as a station hotel. It first appeared in the 1874 Kelly’s Post Office Directory, run by one Thomas Crawford, although it may have existed earlier; for the same licensee is listed in 1870 as running an unnamed beerhouse in Ferry Road, which seems to have been a previous or alternative name for Terminus Road.

Directories record the next two licensees to have been William Knight (1878 - 1890) and Miss Fanny Stoner (1895) before the arrival of the long-serving Edward John Huntley. Unless Huntley had a similar named son or brother, he seems to have been the licensee from 1895 to at least 1938 (the last directory available in the local library) oddly punctuated by the appearance in 1930 of Hugh P. Goodwin.

The in-house KTB publication of c. 1932 describes the Locomotive as “a rebuilt house with a distinctive design of its own carried out by the architects, Messrs. Clayton & Black – a simple and restrained design but one which nevertheless makes the house stand out from amid its surroundings as a piece of very good building. The finely panelled oak doors are details worthy of note.”

In KTB parlance, “simple and restrained design” is a synonym for neo-Georgian, and one might easily mistake the rebuilt Locomotive for one of John Leopold Denman’s trademark Brighton pubs. Indeed, a 1970s Brighton Polytechnic student dissertation on Denman erroneously attributes to him the Greyhound, Brighton, when it was, in fact, another Clayton & Black design in the neo-Georgian mould.

The rebuild of the Locomotive most likely took place in the second half of the 1920s, when Edward John Huntley was the landlord. The only picture I can find of its previous incarnation as a Victorian building is from 1920, as apposite background to a derailed locomotive engine. The Inn was finally demolished in June 2013 after having stood closed for about eight years.

Thanks to my friend Tony Wakeford for these photos of the exposed cellar after the pub was razed to the ground.

17th Worthing Beer Festival, 18th-19th October 2013

Worthing Beer Festival’s relocation to St. Paul’s has proved an overwhelming success, with space for an increasing number of beers, record attendances and a wider choice of food. This year, as well as a Beer of the Festival, a new award will be introduced for Sussex Beer of the Festival. Our regional bar will feature beers from Cumbria, and there will again be two further bars showcasing the best breweries of Sussex and other parts of the UK. A total of over 75 beers plus extra ciders and perries will be available. The infamous charity auction will again take place at around 9pm Friday evening.

Owing to public demand, the festival opening time has been brought forward to 11am for both days, 18th and 19th October. Full opening times: Friday 11am-3.30pm (£3.50) & 5.30-11pm (£5); Saturday 11am-11pm or until the beer runs out (£5). Tickets will be on sale at the Selden Arms, Worthing; Gardeners Arms, Sompting; Henty Arms, Ferring; Crabtree, Lancing; Duke of Wellington, Shoreham-by-Sea; and the Evening Star, Brighton. Tickets will be available on the door subject to availability.

Postal applications to: The Treasurer, The Boathouse, Shopsdam Road, Lancing, BN15 8ES; please make cheques payable to “Arun & Adur CAMRA”. Friday evening and Saturday sessions sell out very quickly, so advance booking is advised. Tickets will be on sale also at the festival venue: St. Paul’s, Chapel Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 1EE (opposite the Town Hall and the Post Office, and an easy walk from Worthing Central station).


For more information: http://www.aaa-camra.org.uk/wbf/17.htm


About the Festival Poster Artwork

After all the positive feedback and comment from the use of the painting of Lydia Cattermole for last year’s advertising, we once again decided to promote the Worthing aspect of our beer festival. A couple of old photographs were trialled, but licensing costs proved prohibitive. While searching for out-of-copyright images in Kim’s book shop, a comment made about a set of vintage-style prints that were already being considered - as they perfectly reflected the image we wished to project - led to contact being made with the artist Chris Gibson. Chris was commissioned to produce a graphic of our venue, St Paul’s. A number of alternatives were supplied and we finally settled for the superb art work that we are using throughout this year’s festival.

Based in Chichester, graphic designer Christopher Gibson initially studied art at Worthing Art College in the late 1980s before specializing in graphic design at the London College of Printing and Typography at Brighton University. He has exhibited pastel and watercolour works in the past but it was a love of the classic travel posters of the early-20th century that inspired a set of contemporary prints that were initially exhibited at the Oxmarket Galleries in Chichester. His commissions and prints can be found across Europe and the US. Christopher can be contacted at info@chichestergraphicarts.com; http://www.chichestergraphicarts.com/; 07969 524341.

Ale & Hearty meets the Vintage Mobile Cinema

Ale & Hearty meets the Vintage Mobile Cinema at Harveys Brewery car park, corner of North Court and Harveys Way, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2JW. Times and dates are 10am-4pm, Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th September.

The event is hosted by the Ale & Hearty project, celebrating lost breweries and brewing in the Lewes area, and is part of this year’s Lewes Heritage Open Days. The specially-made film will be around 17.5 minutes long and eulogises about bygone days of hop picking, brewing and local Sussex traditions with vintage footage taken from local sources including Screen Archive South East.

The Vintage Mobile Cinema seats a maximum 22 people per tour/event. It is the only surviving unit from a fleet of seven Ministry of Technology mobile cinemas built in 1967. Meticulously restored to its former glory, it now features state-of-the-art surround sound, HD digital projection and a comfortable climate-controlled environment for the audience.
 

This is a short event; the film will be shown three times every hour for a six-hour period during both days so is suitable for children from the age of 5 years who are easily bored. The cinema itself is a thing of beauty and of interest to everyone. Please note this event takes place outside in a working brewery car park so, although all necessary safety precautions have been taken, parents must be responsible for their children.

Unfortunately, due to the age of the Vintage Mobile Cinema, there is no accessible provision for this event. The nearest municipal access toilet is on Market Lane, Lewes, BN7 2NT. Pay parking and disabled parking is available in the NCP Harveys Way car park, Lewes, BN7 2JW, which is next to the Harveys brewery venue. There is absolutely no parking available in Harveys Brewery car park.

Pedestrians walk along Cliffe High Street, past the Harveys Brewery shop on your left, then take the little ‘twitten’ or alleyway, North Court, just afterwards, also on the left (with Bills restaurant on your right). Go through North Court and walk to the end. To the right there is a municipal car park, to your left is the back entry delivery park for Harveys Brewery for deliveries - the Vintage Mobile Cinema is in there.

http://www.vintagemobilecinema.co.uk/events. No booking is required for this free event.

Beers WithSoul

At WithSoul we have a simple ambition: to sell great pubs remarkable beer.

“WithSoul have been a tremendous find. A fantastic ever-growing list of beers and brewers coupled with an infectious passion for what is going on in the brewing world. I always look forward to what is coming next from them, only wish I had a bigger cellar!” The Stile Bridge (Maidstone and Mid Kent CAMRA Pub of the Year 2012)

Based in Brighton, WithSoul deliver a unique range of cask and craft beer across London, Sussex and Kent. We represent several excellent Sussex breweries, complementing them with some of the best cask ales from around the country and a superb range of English Lager.

Our aim is to offer a balanced portfolio with both familiar local beers and some less familiar, occasionally eclectic offerings, to deliver the vital point of difference and interest our customers need to appeal to the most discerning drinkers.

You could say we are biased, but we believe having familiar and unfamiliar brands together is fundamentally good business sense. In the Cask Report, 75% of cask ale drinkers said they choose a familiar, trusted brand, but 78% also said they like to try new beers. We know that’s more than 100%, but it shows that drinkers want a range of both familiar and unfamiliar beers when deciding what to drink and that is what we endeavour to provide week in, week out.

 “Working with WithSoul has helped us quickly extend our reach beyond the local area. Their excellent sales and customer service leaves us free to focus on what we do best...brewing great beer!” Brighton Bier Co

For more information on WithSoul and our portfolio of beers, please visit http://www.withsoul.co.uk/, call Ollie on 07525 438 486, or email Stephen at stephen@withsoul.co.uk

Havant Brewery Open Day

Havant brewery is run by husband and wife team, Mike and Caroline Charlton. The couple opened for business in April 2009 at their home in Cowplain, Waterlooville, Hampshire, producing four firkins per brew on a 1-barrel plant. Initial demand was so high they quickly increased brewing to four times a week.

Two years later, having won a number of awards for their beers at festivals and still unable to keep up with demand, they designed, constructed and installed their own 3-barrel brewery with two fermenting vessels. In another expansion, earlier this year, Mike and Caroline moved their brewery to its new, eponymous home at Havant, on an industrial estate just a few minutes stroll from the town’s railway station.

An Open Day was held on Saturday 16th March. On a morning of scudding clouds, sudden showers, and puddles forming in pavements and walkways, I found my way to the brewery slightly early, several minutes before 11am. Glad to see the doors already ajar, I peered through and was warmly welcomed inside. A few people were already present, more promptly arrived and it wasn’t long before quite a crowd had assembled and Mike was conducting his first tour of the day. A festive atmosphere was soon upon us and, as if to bless the occasion, the sun emerged, bathing the brewery interior in warm, bright shafts of light.

I’m a huge fan of darker beers and was delighted to see on the brewery bar, alongside two regular beers, Havant Started (4.0%) and Havant Finished (5.0%), a sweet stout Havant Herd (4.2%). This was a new beer to me and my first taste found the roasted coffee flavours to be perfectly balanced by Lactose sweetness and notes of light milk chocolate. The stout was also a delicious accompaniment to the cheese on crackers with home-made chutney that were appearing on plates around the place. Also on was their pale ale P09 (3.8%), also known as Havant Decided.

After a couple of very enjoyable hours I had to depart, with Sussex Drinkers to deliver to Portsmouth pubs. As the first lot of visitors exited, having first purchased various takeouts, bottles and boxes for home consumption, more people wandered in to take their place and it was time for Caroline to serve more customers and Mike to commence yet another talk. Some folks like to take Saturday afternoon at leisure but Havant brewery would be bustlingly busy for quite a few hours yet.

We wish Mike and Caroline every success in their new premises.

Havant Brewery, Unit 25, The Tanneries, Brockhampton Lane, Havant, Hampshire PO9 1JB; tel. 02392 476067.

http://www.thehavantbrewery.co.uk/

Once a “House” of Repute in Sussex – The Crabtree Inn, Lancing

The Crabtree Inn dates from 1931, newly built to serve the housing estate to the north west of the town that sprawls into Cokeham and Sompting. The construction date, as is often the case with the Kemp Town Brewery, is on a rainwater pipe head - at the left of the building. I have no original plans or confirmation of the architect but it is probably by J. L. Denman and Son. The two flanking brick wings with parapet and the neo-Georgian classical doorways with pediment and pilasters are hallmark KTB. The style is somewhat understated and vernacular but consistent with another Denman-designed suburban estate new-build, the Dolphin, East Worthing, where the concave layout is the converse of that found here at the Crabtree.

The interior retains many striking features. The recently refurbished ‘Spitfire’ saloon bar on the right has an original counter, elegant cupola ceiling, a fine brick and stone Tudor-style fireplace, and half-height panelling. There are teak floorboards and fixed cushioned seating. The pub’s middle snug was long ago combined with a left-side public bar at the point where the off-sales was probably situated. Here is another original counter, field panelling and fixed seating. The back fittings to each bar have been replaced. Admire the craftsmanship in the decorative plasterwork mouldings on the frieze, cornice and capitals in both rooms.

Without the architect’s plans one can only surmise, but the left hand door probably led to both the left side bar and a Jug & Bottle. The defunct counter to what was the left bar is now stranded in the middle of the room, oddly with panelling on both sides. The middle snug may therefore have been entered by a central doorway, now replaced by the projecting window bay.

The Crabtree is Good Beer Guide-listed and always offers Fuller’s London Pride plus a fine selection of three ever-changing guest ales that are served in top condition by the manager, Brian Lamb. The Crabtree also offers its trademark Sunday Carvery. The chef slow-roasts joints of beef, turkey, lamb and pork overnight, resulting in the most succulent and fresh Carvery probably anywhere in the south. The pub has also created a menu designed to fill the demand for good home-cooked pub food at an affordable price. Food is served daily Monday to Saturday from 12noon to 3.00pm and evenings Tuesday to Friday 5.30 to 7.30pm. The Crabtree Inn, 140 Crabtree Lane, Lancing, West Sussex, BN15 9NQ; tel: 01903 755514.

www.facebook.com/crabtree.lancing



Ale & Hearty Reminiscence Sessions

Free Reminiscence Sessions are to be held at two venues as part of the Ale & Hearty project by heritage organisation Strike a Light, looking at the history of breweries and brewing in the Lewes area of Sussex. These will be a chance to meet, talk and explore memories of working life centred upon beer, brewing, breweries, hop picking, local trades, village heritage and more. Bring along old photographs of life in Sussex to unlock the past. Tea and cake is provided and all area welcome.

One venue is Ringmer Village Hall, where sessions will be held from 2-4pm every Monday from 10th June until 12th August. The other venue is Beechwood Hall, Cooksbridge, where sessions will be held from 2-4pm every Wednesday from 19th June until 21st August. To find out how you can join in for free, contact Nicola Benge, Ale & Hearty Project Coordinator on 07727 006538 or email: aleandheartylewes@gmail.com. Click on the poster image for more details.