W 032

W 032

Members of the Alresford ‘Hand-in-Hand Friendly Society’ stand in front of the Horse and Groom at the top of Broad Street to celebrate their 44th anniversary on Easter Monday 1889.

As long ago as 1550, there was an inn on the site which specialised in good liquor and good conversation, mainly on horsey matters; and gave the house the name of the Horse and Jockey. In the 19th century there was racing on both Abbotstone and Tichborne Down and it was in Bishops Sutton stables that Cloister was trained to win the Grand National in 1893. There would have been much knowledgeable talk over the bar both before and after that race. The landlord who changed the name from Jockey to Groom was Charles Butler, who let out a `fly' for hire and it may well be that he thought the name more appropriate to his new venture. Butler's most lasting service to the district was the forming of the Hand-in-Hand society or `Butler's Club' as it was called locally. This working man's insurance club was a boon at a time when any idea of National Social Security was undreamt of. It must have been a success as its annual feasts on Easter Monday, with a brass band parading round the town before the service in the parish church, were reported in the Hampshire Chronicle, whose photographer was careful to ensure that the famous jug, holding a pint over 13 gallons, had a prominent position in the picture of the event.

  All images on this site © Godfrey Andrews ALRESFORD HERITAGE