34 South Street was previously The Sloop public house seen above left with a Lyons Tea sign.
For many people the public house was the centre of social life and Emsworth was well supplied. It had 25 places selling drink in 1875, all at a time when tap and pump water still posed a health hazard. Opened in 1795 the Sloop also had stables with a yard adjoining it. Henty’s Brewers of Chichester acquired the public house in 1845. The landlord from 1851 to 1881 was an oyster merchant as well as a Trinity House Pilot.
Did you know?
A ‘pilot’ is not just someone who flies an aircraft, it’s also someone who is asked to join ships as an expert navigator to provide safe passage through unfamiliar waters. As ships got larger Emsworth harbour waters became too shallow for the newer ships to navigate, so demand for the Emsworth pilot dropped.
In 1891 there was scandal when the pub license was opposed by the police on the grounds that it was ‘in excess of the needs of the population of Emsworth’. The local residents objected so strongly with a public outcry that the objection was later withdrawn!
Everything changed in 1910 when the building was sold to Jack Parham, with a covenant preventing any future owners using the building as a hotel, public house or beer shop.
World War 2
The side street next to 34 South Street was called Orange Row. The street was badly damaged by a parachute mine that dropped on Tower Street, 100 metres to the East.
Even though Orange Row was one of the most desirable residential areas in central Emsworth, due to the damage the original cottages had to be demolished. The original fishermen’s cottages still remain either side, with one converted into a restaurant, known as the much lauded Fat Olives. Orange Yard still also exists, but as a collection of newer houses.
- See more about Fat Olives restaurant and book a table – https://fatolives.co.uk