The Laughing Fish PUB
and it's history

Although some think that the pub started life as a chapel when it was built in the 1870s this view is influenced solely by the unusual shape of the entrance doors at the front. It was always intended to be a hostelry to serve 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.

 

Soon after the start of the Second World War, on 3rd November 1939, 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.

 

Canadian Troops of WWII

 

It was in 1956 that the landlord Tommy Thompson started our now famous “Tommy Trot” Beer Race on Easter Monday. This tradition – involving walking as fast as possible through the village with a brim-full half pint of ale, and spilling as little as possible – continues to this day – even in freezing rain and snow (2008).

 

An incoming landlord in 1957 – Arnold Russell – changed the name of the pub. The story is that he was himself a keen fisherman and knew that the pub was the HQ of the Isfield and District Angling Club. He also thought that “Station Hotel” was a rather boring name, so he came up with “The Laughing Fish”. At some time soon afterwards the engraved plate glass window in the front was obtained – apparently from a closing Eastbourne Fish and Chip shop!

 

We hope you enjoy your visit to us – and if you can add anything to the history, let us know!

 

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 and 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 and 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 and 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 and 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 and Rossi Waggett

?1970-Feb 1973 Geoff and Sheila Jenner

Feb 1973 – Jan 1976 Ron and 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 and Jean Allen

Mar 1979 – Apr 1990 Barry and 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 and 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 and 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 and 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 and 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 – Present Day Andy and 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 and 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

2009        Dean Battye

2010        Lorraine Watson

2011        Dean Battye

If any of these listed are you, or a relative or friend, we’d love to hear from you, especially if you have any photographs or other anecdotes that we can add to our history.

 

Does anyone recall the period 1966-1968? Was the race not run, or did the landlord at the time simply fail to get the cup engraved? The same questions arise for 1970 and 1978; we have been led to believe that from 1984 until 1992 the cup was simply missing; again, any information to fill in the gaps is most welcome.

 

Andy and Linda - Summer 2011