STANDING on the corner of St Mary’s and Onslow Road, this week’s look back at Southampton’s lost pubs takes us to the Newtown Inn, which dated back to the early 1860s when J. Stone was the landlord and its address was 1 Newtown Terrace.
According to early records, the pub was documented as belonging to Panton’s Wareham Brewery in 1881, before it was brought by Scrase’s Star Brewery in 1892, and later coming under the ownership of Strong’s Romsey Brewery.
In this rather faded photograph taken at the turn of the century there is a little more interest than usual in what is happening – compared to the usual leisurely pace at the time at the junction of St. Mary’s R-road and Onslow Road – because a photographer is in action.
- PHOTOS: Lost Southampton pubs in pictures - part two >>>
- PHOTOS: Lost Southampton pubs in pictures - part three >>>
- PHOTOS: Lost Southampton pubs in pictures - part four >>>
- PHOTOS: Lost Southampton pubs in pictures - part five >>>
PICTURED: The Newtown Inn pictured in its heyday back in September 1962
Outside the Newtown Inn stands Saints’ trainer Mr. W. Dawson, in his shirt -sleeves and his watch chain; as he was the licensee of the establishment at the time and on the bar window is the legend: “W. Dawson, SFC trainer”.
Jump forward 60 odd years to the second picture taken on a bright September day in 1962 and we can see the same corner with the pub’s exterior looking relatively unchanged, except for a few modern additions like television aerials.
The Newtown Inn was purchased by the Whitbread Group in 1969 and continued to trade as the Newtown Inn up until 1984 when it was closed for refurbishment.
The pub re-opened as the Bitter End, but after a change of ownership in 1993 it changed again, this time to the Oliver Goldsmith’s.
Nowadays the Best One convenience store occupies the building that was once a favourite haunt of pub regulars for decades.
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