A POPULAR pub in Basingstoke, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary, is inviting people to gather outside its premises next Friday to recreate a group photo taken during previous royal occasions.
The Rising Sun pub in Chapel Hill will host a special afternoon on Friday, June 3, as it plans to organise a picnic in the garden to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
The event will also be a special occasion for the landlord Kevin Divall and his wife as they are retiring on June 6.
The Rising Sun pub has always hosted special gatherings during previous royal occasions.
READ MORE: History of Basingstoke' The Rising Sun pub
There are photos of residents outside the pub during the silver jubilee of King George V in 1935, the silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977 and the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Diana in 1981.
Kevin said he plans to replicate the previous royal occasions and record the event with a photograph of customers old and new.
All the photos have one person balancing on top of the windows while the other residents stand on the ground.
Kevin said he doesn’t know the person standing in the 1935 photos, but the one in 1977 and 1981 was the landlord’s son.
The pub is also looking to identify anyone who featured in the previous landmark photographs.
“We are asking everyone to come along and bring their picnic,” he said.
“We've got a large beer garden. So, they can have a picnic and we can provide the squash for the children. Then we're trying to recreate that photograph at around 3pm. We are trying to keep some form of history.”
The Rising Sun pub dates to August 1, 1822, when it was built by Thomas and Charles May on the boundary of their land, and in 1835 the first recorded landlord was Henry Blake.
Kevin said it has been known as The Rising Sun since 1851.
From 2006 until 2014 the pub was renamed the Wayside Inn and a refurbishment took place.
Over the years 27 named landlords are recorded, with others unknown.
Kevin, who turned 60 this year, took over the pub in 2017 after he retired from a career in IT contracts and program management.
Are you in these legendary photos? Or do you recognise anyone? Then comment below with a bit of history about these pictures.
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