The Last Beer House in Worthing:

An article from 1959 states that the Hare and Hounds, Portland road, was granted a wine licence at the Worthing Brewster sessions. The application was made by United Brewery who said:

 "it was to bring the house more in line with present conditions. The present tendency was for the public house to be regarded as something of a club, and people who frequented them took ladies who did not drink beer". Thus the last Beer house in Worthing finally joined the rest of the pubs with assorted alcohol.

Roger Clock writes:

This flint building dates to late 1800s, and was remodelled & extended (into adjoining property, I think) in the 1990s. In the 60s, the left-hand door opened into the smallest "snug" bar you've ever seen - there was only just room for the door to open into it. Landlords for many years in the 1960s & 1970s were Sam & Nellie Brookes; landlord early 1990s Dennis Peters; and landlord late 1990s Tony Hills I think.

Early 1959, the landlord of the Hare & Hounds applied for a 'full' licence for the beer house in Portland Road. The licence would permit the landlord, Lloyd Brooks to sell spirits and not just beer and wine, which would elevate the building to a pub, or Public House from that of a beer house.

A petition of 249 customers supported the request. The landlord had said not being able to sell spirits he had lost customers to other houses, and there were difficulties

over home dart matches as other teams came from houses with full licences.

The magistrates visiting committee had not been satisfied with the lavatory arrangements and that the position would be aggravated by a full licence. The brewery, Portsmouth and Brighton United Breweries Ltd gave an undertaking for improvements and would resubmit in three months time.

March 17, 1994 and the Hare & Hounds reopens after a 7 week conversion which has doubled the interior of the pub.

Tony and Ruth have run the pub for over 2 years, having previously been the licensees of the Warwick Arms. The newly modernised pub will feature jazz on Tuesday nights and the patio garden, weather permitting will hold summer barbecues, plus their own home cooked food.

We are going to assume that this was the time when the building was opened up into next door.

An article entitled 'Ale and Hearty' appeared in the Worthing Herald in April 1994.

A recently renovated Worthing Public House has released a flood of memories for its former landlord. Mr Lloyd Brookes, of Wykeham Road, Worthing, ran the Hare and Hounds for 31 years before retiring in 1985.

When Mr Brooks and his wife took over the pub in 1955, it had a licence to sell only beer and cost the couple just 11 shillings a week to rent from United Breweries. Mr Brooks said he had not been back to the pub since he and his wife left. 'We didn't want to return because we were sad to leave our home,' But he said he intended to go into the pub now it had been renovated.

It's been some years since we visited the Hare and Hounds but we're pleased to see it's kept its traditional look. I have always favoured a pub that uses wood, always warm and welcoming.

We don't know when jazz evenings were first introduced but it seemed to be a regular feature of this pub.

 Time Line

 A little bit extra

1852 - listed as Beer retailer until 1968
1858 - 1871 Moses Bodle  (Died 1875)
1901 - Hare & Hounds Inn - Charlotte Bodle
1931 - 1939 CJ Pollington
1955 - 1985 Lloyd Brooks
1960 - 1970 Sammy & Nellie
1971 - Council refused to knock into next door
1990 - Dennis Peters
1992 - Tony Hills
2004 - 2009 Peter Wilson & Michael Shiel
2009 - Pete Wilson