The town map of Alton 1829 shows the French Horn Inn and it is known that William Lee, a brewer, was the owner. When first used as a pub, the property consisted of:

In 1838 the Chawton Tithe map confirms the French Horn Public House belonged to John Hawkins, the owner of Alton Brewery. In 1841 he advertised his brewery with ten freehold inns and public houses for sale. They included The French Horn, tenant James Windibank. It was said to have a skittle ground which would have been outside. Reference was made to the house doing good business on account of cricket matches being played on The Butts and of a 'large annual Lamb Fair' held there.

Above: The Butts, Alton - Warney's Series Left: The Butts, Alton - unknown Cricket has been played on The Butts in Alton since at least 1828. See our Old Fashioned Cricket Day page for more details of this, and the history of cricket on The Butts. The Alton Great Lamb Market also took place on The Butts in July and there were plenty of cups to be won. A newspaper report in 1846 mentioned a visit by horses and lions!

The London and South Western Railway extension, from Alton to Winchester, opened in October 1865. When the railway plans were published in 1854, James Windibank was in occupancy at The French Horn, but he died long before the great railway embankment rose like a cliff round the house. It was his wife, Eliza Windibank who served the thirsty navvies and marveled at the great construction work going on around the tiny group of houses at The Butts.

These is a story that The French Horn had to be demolished when the railway bridge was built. Certainly there are some brick foundations under the grass at that corner, and the building was demolished to make way for the bridge, however it was not The French Horn. The railway line is still active today as The Watercress Line, which runs from Alton to Alresford.

The layout of The French Horn property remained as in the above illustration for many years, but in 1980 the interior was changed quite considerably by the tenant at the time Rodney Ryan. He extended the bar area by knocking through one of the garages and fully opened up the two smaller existing bars. Mr and Mrs Ryan also converted the old cricket pavilion into a skittle alley.

The Pavilion building had certainly been built by 1910, when it appeared on an OS map. In 1914, the 'Inland Revenue Survey' described The French Horn:
Brick and tile. Bar parlour, tap room, kitchen, scullery, beer cellar and outhouse, 3 bedrooms and attic. Roof poor. Brick timber and tile Clubroom 37 ft long and iron shed. Brick and tile coal and wood house and 4 stall stable. Timber and slated workshop and coach house. Chicken House.

Past Occupants of The French Horn:

Staff of Halls Brewery, Alton, 1888. Hampshire County Museum Service

It would seem that because of the local water and the surrounding hop fields, Alton proved to be at the centre of brewing in the area. The Hall Brewery owned The French Horn until 1903 when they sold to Courage. In 1955 Courage & Co became Courage & Barclay.

In 1962 Courage, Barclay & Simmons were the brewers until it reverted back to Courage Ltd in 1970. Finally it was sold to Ushers Brewery of Trowbridge, Wilts, who remain the suppliers today.

In February 1978 the pub was granted a Section 68 Certificate which meant it could serve meals and extend the licensing laws by 1 hour providing the alcohol is served to people eating a meal. In 1990 a further Section 68 Certificate was granted to serve suppers in the skittle alley.

We'd like to express our thanks to the contributors of this page: Hampshire Records Office Winchester, Hampshire Country Museum Service, North Hants Licensing Office Aldershot, Alton Museum, The Alton Papers, Alton Herald, Alton Gazette, Kellys Directory, Jane Hurst, Georgia Smith, Tom Slight, Mrs V G Hunt, Mrs L Croucher, Mr G Dye, Mr and Mrs J Campbell, Rita Watts.

Get in touch! If you have any material suitable for inclusion in our history section, please contact us. We'd be especially keen to see any old photos!