Flashback: The history of Basingstoke inns by Robert Brown

To a certain extent, this lack of inns has been compensated by the opening of restaurant and café bars where alcohol is available in the town centre.

Basingstoke has had drinking places ever since the 15th century when beerhouses and taverns began to prosper, such as the Holy Lamb in Chapel Street (in those days the road was called Whitewaye) and the George Hotel and the Angel Inn in the Market Place.

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The George Hotel in the Market Place in the late 1950s (Image: Contributed)

The George has lived on through to the 21st century, but now it has been taken over as a pizza restaurant. The original building was demolished in 1819 and rebuilt, but part of the old stone walls can still be seen at the rear of the premises.

The George was first mentioned in 1440 when the inn’s tapster was fined 9d for stealing six hens.

From the time of Henry VI, there are references to the George, including its connection with the country’s saint, and later with the kings of England.

One source states that materials from the ruins of Basing House were used in the construction of the inn in the mid-17th century during extensions to the building.

In more recent years, the hotel – as it became used by overnight travellers – was nicknamed the “Hole in the Wall”, as its archway was looked upon as an aperture in the brickwork. This archway was not only the entrance to the inn, but also to a public footpath, and yard, which led up to Southern Road.

The yard was named after Mr Petman, who had an off-licence attached to the George at the turn of the 20th century.

Some years ago the inn closed the pathway and caused a certain amount of controversy, especially when the area under the archway was made into an extension of the inn.

In December 1989, just two weeks after the George was entered into the 1990 Good Beer Guide, the owners of the inn, Courage, submitted a planning application for the demolition of the building to replace it with offices and a shop.

However, a protest by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the local people who frequented the inn led to the idea being stopped.

Another inn which is being altered in the town is the Hop Leaf in Upper Church Street. 

The Hop Leaf was originally called the Black Boy public house, a name which is meant to relate to King Charles I, but has also been associated with the symbol of a coloured native boy who picked the tobacco leaves in the country of Ceylon.

A 16th-century reference notes a building called Pomols which once stood on the site of the Black Boy, which was occupied by Samuel Hiscock.

Old directories state that there was a wine and brandy merchant business in the late 18th century.

Over the following years, several members of the Attwood family managed the Black Boy. Then, by 1850, the landlord was William Klitz, who advertised himself as a wine and spirits merchant. At that same time, a market room was built at the rear of the inn.

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In October 1885 a 16th-century property next door to the inn was demolished and a new building was erected, with shop fittings below and a large room above for social purposes.

After the 1880s, the inn was under the ownership of May’s Brewery of Brook Street, which provided all the drinks.

By the 1950s the brewery had closed down and another one had taken over. Around 1962, the name of Black Boy was removed and the inn became the Hop Leaf.

Although many of the old inns have been demolished or changed their business, it is comforting to know that the Hop Leaf will remain a place where a glass of beer can still be drunk in a style that people have enjoyed over the past few centuries.

This article was written by Robert Brown and first published in the Gazette on Friday, July 2, 2004.