Local Gosport Pub Celebrates 290th Birthday of the Fox Tavern
Licensees Peter Street and Chantelle Cheshire at the Fox Tavern on North Street in Gosport, are celebrating the pub’s 290th birthday, having been licensed in 1736, with a party on Saturday 14th November in tribute to the pub’s long history.
As part of the celebrations the pub will be hosting a birthday party during the daytime from 11am, complete with a time capsule including pictures and memoirs from customers, a comment book, as well as live music from customer Phil Cartwright, competitions such as ‘How many in the jar’ to raise money for charity Save a Warrior UK, and a £1,000 bar tab donation from Admiral Taverns which means £1 off all pints and house doubles. The pub will also be selling limited edition t-shirts with profits going to their charity.
The Fox Tavern is a grade 2 listed building with an interesting history, reportedly the oldest pub in Gosport where famous drinkers include celebrated Admiral Lord Nelson who is known for his brilliance during the Napoleonic wars. Historically a naval pub due to its Gosport location, it is also rumoured that the cellars hid a secret smugglers passage where rum was smuggled through for sailors to drink. The pub even has a list of some of it’s landlords going back a few hundred years. More recently, during the second world war a local was returning home from the pub with a jug of beer in each hand when they were shot out of his hands – luckily the local survived but it marks another chapter for the pub as it’s played its part in local history.
Licensee Peter Street commented: ” In today’s day and age we are delighted that the Fox Tavern has reached its 290th birthday. Over the years the pub has gone through lots of change, but having been at the pub for a few months now we felt it was only fitting for us to hold a big birthday party to mark the occasion. We’re looking forward to people coming down to the pub, and our time capsule will hopefully provide an interesting record of the pub for people to look back on.”
The Fox Tavern is a wet-led community pub, serving premium sandwich rolls, as well as sports facilities including a darts board and a pool table, which is for Monday through to Thursday. The pub also hosts a wide range of entertainment, from open mic nights on a Monday, Bingo on a Tuesday, a lady’s circle fortnightly, a quiz night on a Thursday, and live music most weekends.
Licensees Peter and Chantelle have been at the pub for six months. Having run a pub back in the 90s but had a break since, Peter was drawn back to the pub trade and looking for a retirement project, which has seen him and Chantelle take on the Fox Tavern. The pub also benefits from a beer garden which customers can enjoy during warmer months.
The pub is part of Admiral Taverns, with Matt Obrey, Business Development Manager for Admiral Taverns, adding: “This is a really impressive achievement for the pub and it is great to see Peter and Chantelle using this milestone to support the local area and provide a really fun day for the local community to enjoy. Pubs thrive on the merits of the licensees and the local community and here’s hoping it will still be going in another 290 years!”