The story of pubs in the Cowes area is the theme of this summer’s exhibition by the Cowes Heritage and Community Group (CHCG).
Beer Houses, Bars and Boozers, is at the Beckford Centre in Beckford Road, Cowes, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 15th, 16th and 17th August (free admission, donations welcome).
Many of the more recent pubs, landlords and landladies will be familiar and anecdotes will be welcomed at the exhibition – see who you can spot in the many old photos.
The Pubs of Cowes, Gurnard and Northwood
Also at the exhibition will be the newly updated book The Pubs of Cowes, Gurnard and Northwood by the late David Jones. It has been launched this summer by Cowes Heritage and Community Group (CHCG) with extra pictures and anecdotes and can now be ordered on Amazon as well as bought locally.
The names of many of these old pubs and hotels live on, some are now private houses or shops. Others have totally disappeared under car parks and modern apartment blocks.
In the days when pubs were often just a front room, poorer families were encouraged to sell beer to supplement their incomes and there were beer houses in most streets. Others were part of hotels, some boasting royal clientele and others catered visiting (drunken?) sailors – a real Cowes mix.
See the CHCG website for more information.
News shared by Mark on behalf of Cowes Heritage and Community Group. Ed
