Fareham lies in the southeast of Hampshire, close to my hometown the city of Portsmouth and roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation, which also includes neighbouring Southampton (boo!). To the south lies the town of Gosport, to the east Portchester, to the north the M27 motorway and Wickham, which is part of Winchester. West of the town lie the settlements of Titchfield, Catisfield, Locks Heath, Warsash and Whiteley. Fareham traditionally relied on its clay soil for industry, producing bricks, tiles and chimney pots. This past is commemorated through the names of places such as Kiln Road. The most famous example of a building constructed from Fareham red bricks is London's Royal Albert Hall. The main economic activity in the town these days is retail, which employs 15% of the population, and it has also become a popular choice for the location of business call centres. Fareham is situated at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour where the River Wallington joins it. Small industries still operate, reflecting the town's maritime past. HM Royal Navy operate in Fareham, training over 2000 British and foreign sailors at a time at the Maritime Warfare School HMS Collingwood.
Archaeological excavations around the old high street and at the church of St. Peter and St. Paul, on high ground over the Wallington estuary, have yielded evidence of settlement on the site contemporary with Roman occupation. However, due to the historic nature of the buildings in this area, intensive investigation has not been possible. The town has a recognised and documented history dating back to the Norman era when part of William's army marched up Fareham creek before continuing to the Anglo-Saxon capital of Winchester. Originally known by the name Ferneham (reflected in the name of local entertainment centre Ferneham Hall), Fareham's location was determined by the ford of Fareham creek at the top of Portsmouth Harbour. This ford was also the location of the Bishop of Winchester's mills: the foundations of these mills were subsumed in the A27 near the railway viaduct. Commercial activity continued at the port until the 1970s and continues to this day on a smaller scale. By the beginning of the 20th century, Fareham had developed into a major market town. In the 1960s, Fareham experienced a huge amount of development as it was one of the areas highlighted in the South Hampshire Plan. The idea was to create thousands of homes to serve as a base for the many people who were looking to move away from the traditional urban centres of Portsmouth and Southampton (boo!). Fareham is now at a stage of maturity as a town. It is increasingly popular as a place to live, with plentiful housing and open space. An urban renewal initiative began in 1999, renovating the town centre and historic buildings to include a new entertainment and shopping complex. It featured a major iron sculpture park, installed in 2001 to celebrate the work of Lancastrian iron pioneer Henry Cort, who lived in neighbouring Gosport but had an iron rolling mill in Funtley, on the outskirts of Fareham.
It was a horrendous night for weather when I ventured from the safety of my mum's house to make a trip into Fareham by bus. It was blowing a terrible gale and had been raining almost non-stop for half the day, making me very glad that I'd chosen the previous day to make my trip home for the festive season. I'd visited some of the pubs on this trip on previous occasions but this was my first proper journey around them in the name of research. After arriving in the precinct, which by now resembled a paddling pool thanks to the weather, I headed to my first pub of the evening, the Smith & Jones managed The Vanguard, located in a converted church.
An independent church has stood on the site since 1693, and was founded in 1691, 2 years after the Act of Toleration made freedom of worship available in England. It met first over stables in Meeting House Alley, almost opposite the present building, which was erected in 1836 to replace the original one. The first Sunday School in Fareham began here in 1786 and a British school was established in 1833, under the direction of Rev. G. Dempster Mudie. During the church's bicentenary year, the School Room was rebuilt and other rooms were added. By October 1972, when the United Reformed Church was created, the church was the prevailing beacon for this faith in Fareham. Inside, the pub is very much a mix of styles. One half of the building is the old church, complete with long, narrow windows, overhead galleries and seating arranged in booths along both sides, reminiscent of pews. The centre of this room has also had seating added but is surprisingly spacious. The evidence of the high eaves and chapel-like features still remain. The other half, where the main bar is located, is a roughly diagonal modern extension with lots of glass facing out into the high street and a small, outside seating and smoking area. Both floors of the pub have a bar, but I settled for the main downstairs bar, which includes 5 hand pulls. On this occasion, all were being used to incorporate Old Rosie, Wychwood Hobgoblin, Sharp's Doom Bar, Courage Best and Ringwood Fortyniner. I'm a big fan of Ringwood beers as a rule. They're brewed locally and I'm very pleased that they're becoming more widespread nationally. The Fortyniner is one of my favourites. At 4.9% , this is a chestnut coloured beer with a malty aroma, a smooth, slightly nutty flavour and a dry, crisp finish. It went down rather well indeed and got the evening off to a good start.
My next location involved braving the elements again, but thankfully was very close by and the first of 2 Wetherspoons pubs on the trip. The smaller of the 2, this particular venue is The Crown Inn.
Situated in the pedestrianized part of West Street, The Crown Inn was first recorded in 1841 as the Crown Brewery and was then the nearest inn to the old market site. From around 1870 to 1900, the Crown Brewery was run by the Cawte brothers. In the 1911 trade directory for Fareham, the premises was listed as the Crown Inn and its licensee was Mrs Clara Frost, who remained in charge for almost 20 years. Nowadays though, J.D. Wetherspoon run the place! The building is small, fairly square and surprisingly busy for a Monday evening! Faux glass chandeliers hang above the central bar which is rectangular and fairly short. There are 6 hand pulls on offer, most of which appear to provide local beers. Alongside Ruddles Best and Abbot Ale are Pure Gold, Winter's T'Ale from Upham Brewery, Kings IPA and, my eventual choice, HPA (Hammerpot Pale Ale) from Hammerpot Brewery over in Sussex. This is a pleasant beer, pale, hoppy and fruity with a creamy head and a smooth finish, all at 4.1%. It certainly makes the presence of a random weirdo telling me about his aborted attempt to get the train to Haslemere more bearable. Not enough to stick around though, so I drank as quickly as I could manage and was on my way.
The rain had stopped by now but my next destination wasn't far away: The Red Lion Hotel.
Now operated by Greene King under their Old English Inns arm, The Red Lion Hotel was originally recorded as a coaching inn in 1736. It is now a Grade II listed building and retains many of its period features with an added modern twist. Inside, there are areas of original brickwork exposed to an atmosphere of low seating and a low, rustic-looking bar. Ale-wise, this was a bit of a disappointment. Only GK IPA was available and, although this was very well kept and rather nice, I was expecting a slightly wider range when I entered, especially after what happened next. Following the end of my pint, I headed out to my next intended stop, just down the road. The Golden Lion is a traditional pub operated by Fuller's that is located just around the corner from my previous stop. However, I misjudged my timings slightly. I knew the pub closed at 9 on a Monday but, as I stepped through the door and my eyes fell on the 3 gleaming hand pulls, I realised that I had missed last orders! The apologetic landlord seemed to understand my predicament, which lessened the blow somewhat, but I need to make sure I visit this place next time!
Not too downheartened, I instead headed to my next port of call. This involved looping back around the main high street, past the aforementioned Ferneham Hall theatre and onto Trinity Street. There stands The Fareham.
This traditional pub is elevated above the pavement with steps leading up to the main entrance. The interior is large and expansive, with seating to the right of the entrance and further back in the room. There is a pair of electronic dartboards to the left of the door. On my last visit, there was a darts match in progress but thankfully this was not the case this time. The bar is opposite the door, curved in layout and extending away down the room opposite the toilets. There were also some frantically flashing Christmas lights in one of the interior bay windows, which were impressive but potentially seizure-inducing if left unchecked. Of the 4 handpulls present, 3 were in use, housing Thwaites Yule Love It, Wychwood Bah Humbug! and, surprisingly, Castle Rock Snowhite. I opted for the Bah Humbug! at 4.3%. This was bronze in colour, with a nice mix of malt and hops, a long-lasting creamy head and a very smooth finish. I also ended up getting it for free as it was the last pint in the barrel! Even though I thought it was very good, the landlord didn't like to charge me for something that he felt might be sub-standard. I was surprised by this altruism but impressed that this kind of thing still goes on! There's not enough pubs that value their drinkers in this way and they could all learn something from the folks at The Fareham. What I did not enjoy, as I relaxed in a quiet corner, were the trio of drinkers nearby who had the nerve to say negative things about Doctor Who! Thankfully, I had the beer to occupy my attention or else there would have been trouble!
My last venue on this enlightening journey was the 2nd, much bigger Wetherspoons premises, The Lord Arthur Lee, back on the high street.
Opened in 1999, this former Co-Op store is named after a former MP for the town of Fareham. Later created Lord Lee of Fareham, he left his country estate Chequers as a retreat for future Prime Ministers. This Wetherspoons is considerably bigger than its sister premises down the road and also has more a standard Spoons layout with lots of seating arranged around an L-shaped in the corner of the main room. The bar contains 10 hand pumps, all in use and displaying an interesting mix of standard Spoons fare and festive guest beers. On offer during my visit were Old Rosie, Christmas Stuffing, Santa's Darkside, Bateman's Rosey Nosey, Divine Yule Saison, Abbot Ale, Ruddles Best, Marcle Hill Cider, Twelve Days and, a joint effort with an American brewery, Righteous Ale. Easily attracted by the flashing festive pump clip, I swung in favour of Rosey Nosey. This was ruby coloured, suitable for the season but with a fruity flavour and a distinctive hop aroma backed up with a zesty finish and a flavour belying its strength of 4.9%. I spent a few well-earned minutes savouring this and reflecting on all the joys of the festive season. Up until around this point, I hadn't really felt festive so it was nice to finally be in the mood for Christmas, even if a little belatedly.
Soon though, time was up on my trip to Fareham and I wound my weary way back to the bus station for the journey home in the rain, which was back with a vengeance. Overall, there is a lot to commend about Fareham's ale scene, and I was surprised how much it had to offer as it is not somewhere that would make it onto many automatic lists for a pub jaunt. I'm tempted to investigate this area again, largely to go to The Golden Lion but also because there are a couple of pubs that I left out due to time constraints that could definitely warrant a research-related visit. Fareham, in my book, is one of Hampshire's hidden gems and certainly worth a punt if you're ever down this way and fancy a quiet pint of something local and delicious. We southerners might not do a lot but we do good beer!
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