A brief history of “The Laughing Fish”

A brief history of “The Laughing Fish”

Ever since we knew that we were taking on the tenancy of the pub – back in February 2001 – we have been keen to research its history. This page summarises what we think we have found out so far – but there are many gaps, and there may well be mistakes. Please let us know if you think you can add to – or correct – anything that follows.

The pub is reputed to have started life as a chapel when it was built in the 1860s. However, it is possible that this view has been influenced by the unusual shape of the entrance doors at the front. It was certainly never consecrated, and was soon a hostelry serving the newly built railway. At first, it was called the Half Moon – landlord Job Allen transferring the licence from his already existing pub in the village (that building survives to this day as Lime Tree Villas further along Station Road) – but it soon became the Station Hotel.

On 3^rd November 1939, soon after the start of the Second World War, the pub was taken on by Mr Fred Pullinger. However, he quickly realised that it wasn’t making any money. He was on the point of giving up the tenancy when, out of the blue, an army officer turned up in a staff car and told him that three and a half thousand Canadian troops were about to be billeted at nearby Sutton Hall and they would need somewhere to drink! Army Officers were also living in the White House opposite. This secured the immediate future of the business. The new customers were not entirely well-behaved however – one night Fred had cause to eject a group of them. In their drunken state, they then returned with high explosive and blew up the porch! The following day Fred calmly went to see the Commanding Officer, who immediately arranged for the same troops to rebuild the porch.

We’re still unsure how or when the change of name to The Laughing Fish came about, although recent information from Malcolm Palfrey is beginning to clear the mist. The pub used to be the HQ of the Isfield and District Angling Club, and it has been suggested that they were instrumental in changing its name. We had always thought that the name was changed sometime during the 1950s (a former resident thinks that it was The Laughing Fish in 1957), but the most recent information we have been given is that it was between 1963 and 1966. Malcolm mentions the link with the Isfield and District Angling Club, and says that after an uneventful day’s fishing some of the members would call in. The locals, unkindly, would comment that the fish were laughing at them; the locals were certainly instrumental in choosing the new name. Former landlord from the early 1990s, George Thornton, thought that the name came from the coat of arms of Isfield Place, which apparently features an apparently laughing fish. They also confirmed that the engraved window in the porch followed (i.e. did not pre-date) the name-change, and that it came from a fish and chip shop in Eastbourne!

It might have been supposed that the name change would have been linked to the closure of the railway –after all, what is the point of a Station Hotel when there’s no station? – but it certainly was not. The railway line did not close until 1969. This was nothing to do with the infamous Beeching cuts of the 1960s, either. The County Council wanted to implement a road scheme in Lewes and the railway was in the way, so the service was slowly strangled until it could be claimed that it was no longer viable! (There’s lots more about this on http://home.clara.net/wealdenline).

Former landlords

When we first arrived we managed to glean quite a bit of information from the former owner of Boathouse Farm, Ian McKinney, and some gaps were filled in by another local who is sadly no longer with us, Johnny Allitt. Strangely, we know more about the period from 1939 to 1949 than we do about 1950-1973 – largely because the family of the wartime landlord still visit us from time to time.

Since first publishing this on the web in June 2008 we are also grateful for valuable information from former and soon-to-be-again resident Malcolm Palfrey.

1867 Job Allen

Job Allen was the licensee of the Half Moon, which was the village inn before the coming of the railway (now Lime Tree Villas). He was almost certainly the first landlord of the Station Inn, and is listed as such in the Post Office Directories of Sussex from 1867 & 1874. (Intriguingly, a section from an Ordnance Survey map of 1874 shows this building as being called the Half Moon. We can only think that this was a contemporary error)

1882 John Brooker (from the Post Office Directory 1882)

1939-1949 Fred & Helen Pullinger

We know quite a bit about the wartime years because Fred’s family still live in the area and visit occasionally. They have confirmed the story of the Canadian troops (above) and the dates of the tenancy.

1949-1956 John “Jack” Simmonds

John’s daughter Shirley (now Siggs) came in last year and brought with her some photographs of the outside of the pub and the garden. She met her husband, Ron Siggs, from Halland here. She also tells us that the old Village Hall used to be next door to the pub.

1956 Tommy Thompson

Tommy wasn’t here for very long, but seems to have been quite a character. He originated our now famous annual “Beer Race”, which was nicknamed the “Tommy Trot” and is still run every Easter Monday.

(It was sometime during the 1950s that the interior of the pub was painted black, and the piano in the bar painted yellow [M.Palfrey])

1956- ? Arnold Russell

Ian McKinney told us that it was Arnold who installed a two-way mirror behind the bar. What is now the Bar Billiards room used to be the family’s living room, and the mirror enabled them to see if someone had come into the bar during quiet periods.

?1960-1964? Tom & Mavis Alloway

Tom also had a job, possibly as a gas engineer (Malcolm Palfrey remembers he had a van with “Calor Gas” on the side). Mavis supplemented their income too by being the local Avon lady!

(There may have been another landlord in between these two).

1964-1966 John & Joan Page

This couple were popular, and also responsible for the building of the house opposite, “Sappers”, so called because John had served in the Royal Engineers before entering the pub trade. Prior to the Laughing Fish they had run a pub in Lewes.

?1967-1970? Ron & Rossi Waggett

?1970-Feb 1973 Geoff & Sheila Jenner

Feb 1973 – Jan 1976 Ron & Mary Gower

We met this couple, now living in Thurso, in 2007 when they visited while in the area. We wish that we had had more time to chat to them about their time here. We do know that it was during this period that the archway linking the public bar and the saloon bar was knocked through. They also introduced the selling of meals.

Jan 1976 – Mar 1979 Charles & Jean Allen

Mar 1979 – Apr 1990 Barry & Barbara Dimmack

The pub appears to have been in its heyday during Barry and Barb’s long tenancy. We met them when we first arrived in 2001, as they were still then running the Brewer’s Arms, Herstmonceux, having been at the Wellington, Seaford, in between.

Structural alterations to the pub were approved in 1984, and we think that that was when the kitchen was moved from its old location (a small room overlooking the garden, now itself disappeared as a separate room) to its current location. That itself was once stables, and then later a function room which used to house a weekly Folk Club.

Apr 1990 – Oct 1993 Derek & Val Gilbert

We have in our possession a video of clips from a programme made about Dame Thora Hird during this period, filmed in and around the pub. Several current customers feature prominently! Dame Thora’s daughter, Janette Scott, lived in the village at this time, and the film featured Dame Thora apparently starting the Beer Race. However, what actually happened was that the producers asked Derek & Val to organise a re-run of the race later in the year just for the purposes of the documentary. This, of course, involved getting all the customers back to pretend it was the real race.

Oct 1993 – Oct 1997 George & Sheila Thornton

George and Sheila left the licensed trade when they left the Fish. This was the time when the pub trade was beginning to change from its traditional structure (most pubs either freehold or tied to a small, local brewer) to the situation we have today where the majority of pubs are owned by massive corporate property companies such as Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns. This pub was at that time (and had been possibly since its inception) owned by Beard’s of Sussex, a small family owned company which had ceased brewing itself some years before. Most of their pubs therefore sold Harvey’s ales, and it was difficult to tell a Beard’s house and a Harvey’s house apart.

Oct 1997 – Oct 2000 Mick Kirby and Jacquie Webber

Mick and Jacquie took on the Beard’s tenancy after having run the Cricketer’s Arms in Burgess Hill. It was while they were here that Greene King purchased the entire group of pubs owned by Beard’s, to give them a foothold in the South-East*. Whilst Greene King at that time promised that tenants used to selling Harvey’s beers could keep them during the remainder of their tenancy, the change from a small to a big landlord was difficult for many of the Beard’s tenants to adapt to, and Mick and Jacquie left the licensed trade.

Oct 2000 – Feb 2001 Rob & Carole Sawyer

Rob and Carole had shown an interest in taking on the tenancy, but were asked by Greene King to hold the pub as “tenants-at-will” whilst a decision was made. Unfortunately they had to take the flack when Harvey’s ales were finally removed from the pub.

Feb 2001 – date Andy & Linda Brooks

We were somewhat surprised when Greene King offered us this pub, as we had applied for it in August 2000, and then had heard that it had been given to Rob & Carole. In the meantime, Greene King tried to get us interested in another of their tenancies which was becoming available, at the Brewer’s Arms in Vines Cross. We confidently expected that it was there that we were to be sent when we were called to a meeting in January 2001, but we are so pleased that it was the Fish!

*This was the beginning of Greene King’s massive growth in the last ten years or so, which now sees them as the biggest vertically integrated brewer in the country, closely followed by Marstons. (We’re sorry about the management-speak, but “vertically integrated” does actually describe the set up quite well – they still brew beer, still own pubs, and want their own beer sold in their own pubs. A very traditional set-up, but obviously now on a massive scale.) Neither Punch nor Enterprise brew any beer, but still tie their tenants to supply contracts which they negotiate with brewers.

Dates of structural alterations and other changes

July 2002 The existing children’s play area was installed to replace a very dilapidated climbing frame and swings. One of our best investments, there was now a reason for families with young children to visit during the summer months.

September 2002 Further works in the garden included the building of the pergola and the fencing-in of the entire area.

March 2003 Re-decoration of the outside of the pub, and new signage. This really completed our first major “makeover” and we started to see good growth in trade.

January 2005 Installation of a modern air extract system and canopy in the catering kitchen

September 2005 Work begins (ended mid-November) to refurbish the cellar. Over £50000 was spent by the brewery to completely rebuild what had become very dilapidated and difficult to clean, with pitted floors, water ingress everywhere, and insufficient insulation. During this period we had a temporary cellar in a portable building where our smoking area now is.

February 2007 A major building programme, which effectively closed the pub for six weeks. The separate little room overlooking the garden (which had been once the kitchen, then a family room, and at times had housed the bar billiards table) was knocked into the main bar, involving the removal of the fireplace. The customer entrance from the car park was remodelled so that we lost the feeling of walking into a corridor. We built a new toilet block to provide a disabled/additional ladies’ loo, and to replace the rather quaint old, once outdoor gents toilet. We provided the access ramp for wheelchairs, and put in the “Jumbrella” to provide a sheltered outdoor area for smokers in anticipation of the Smoking Ban. We also completely refurbished the catering kitchen, replacing the walls and flooring and installing professional catering equipment replace the inherited built-in domestic-style units.

The Beer Race

We can be confident that the Easter Monday Beer Race was started by Tommy Thompson in 1956 because we still have the trophy! We know that the race has been held most, if not all, years since because, again, the winners names are engraved on it. A list of those is below.

Anecdotally, apart from the Thora Hird story related above, we understand that actress Diana Dors and band-leader Joe Loss were at least two celebrities who attended through the years.

Why the beer race was started is a mystery, but the rules are well-established – competitors are provided with a half-pint tankard of ale, which they are then required to carry through the village to the mill – about ¾ of a mile – and back, spilling as little as possible, with the winner being the one who returns the fullest

glass within a time limit of 35 minutes. Opportunities for cheating are, of course, rife, but so are the opportunities for grassing on the cheats, so it usually works out fairly! We’re always intrigued when two friends set out together for one to return with an empty glass but his companion with a very full one!

These days the race is run for charity, and the RNLI have become established as the recipients, and great friends and helpers on the day. Since we’ve been at the pub the weather has been tremendously kind to us, with often very warm sunshine on Easter Monday – until 2008, when it showed and rained in turn! Despite this 65 stalwarts still braved the conditions, and we raised over £200 for the RNLI.

Winners of the “Tommy Trot” Beer Race

1956 E. F. Tredgett

1957 E. W. Vinall

1958 Mrs. Rose Satterley

1959 Colin Bradford

1960 Tony Ockenden

1961 Michael Reed

1962 Cecil Page

1963 Peter Weston

1964 Guy Cogger

1965 Robert Hedger

1966

1967 (No names)

1968

1969 P. Roberts

1970 (No name)

1971 J. S. W. Long

1972 D. Page

1973 H. Fingerneissl

1974 A. Nunn

1975 Guy Cogger

1976 K. Woolfenden

1977 Colin Harvey

1978 (No name)

1979 A. Winder

1980 A. Winder

1981 A. Winder

1982 M. Strange

1983 D. Cannon

1984

1985

1986

1987 (No names)

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993 Sue Hazelden

1994 J. Reynolds

1995 Sue Hazelden

1996 K. Duncton

1997 K. Duncton

1998 Alan Cox

1999 Vanessa Moore

2000 Suzi Fantom

2001 Lorraine Watson

2002 Ian Moore

2003 Ian Moore

2004 Ian Moore

2005 Nick Betts

2006 Will Miles

2007 Craig Mitchell

2008 Ashley Madden