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| The Volunteer 30 Victoria Street Ventnor Isle of Wight PO38 1ES (01983) 852537 Email. |
The Volunteer is a Free House, situated in the seaside Victorian town of Ventnor, on the south-east coast of the sunny Isle of Wight. It was built in 1866 as a private residence, but became a beer house in 1869. It has been a pub ever since then and under the ownership of Tim Saul since 1993. Until 1960, it held a beer-house licence and was not able to sell spirits. A full licence was eventually granted in 1961, after the Burt's Brewery, then the owners, built a new toilet for the ladies! The pub passed through several hands and after a troubled period between 1989 and 1992 it was closed for 18 months. It lay empty and derelict until it was renovated with the aid of The Rural Development Commission and re-opened in October 1993. You can find The Volunteer in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2004 where it has been listed every year since 1994. During the last 6 years they have been runner up in the Isle of Wight CAMRA Pub of The Year Competition 5 times. In 2000 they gained third place which is again a great compliment from the Island's CAMRA members.
| The building was constructed around 1866 by Mark William Norman of Ventnor and William Ford of Godshill, both in the Isle of Wight. The 1871 census records show the licensee was Cornelius Giles, whose wife, Louisa Mary Giles purchased the Inn on 23 June 1877, from the builders, William Ford and Mark Norman. | Mark Norman received the princely sum of £280 for "all that piece of parcel of land or garden ground (part of field called Collins) which was formerly part of a certain farm called Ventnor Farm". The Indenture of Conveyance was dated 23 June 1877 and made between "William Ford of the first part, Mark William Norman of the second part, Cornelius Giles of the third part, Louisa Mary Giles of the fourth part and Richard King and Frederick Faker of the fifth part". |
In 1888 Louisa Giles leased The Volunteer to Harry Crutchley, an Isle of Wight railway clerk, for £40 per annum.
| In 1901, Louisa Giles and Henry Brook
Giles leased The Volunteer to Alice Maud Mary Rugg. Seven years later, in 1908, Louisa
Giles died and the following year, on the 29th September 1909, the property was let to
Messrs. Whitbread & Co. on lease for 40 years at a rental of £45 per annum, the
tenants doing all repairs. On Thursday, November 24th, 1910, the freehold of the premises was offered for sale by auction, by Francis Pittis and Son, the auction " being held at Cass's Crab & Lobster Hotel, in Ventnor, at 6 o'clock in the evening, by direction of the Owner". |
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In 1911, Clara Fanny Riddall Ellis became tenant and was still in residence in 1920. Presumably, the freehold of the property did not reach it's reserve price at the Auction in 1910, since in 1920, Henry Brook Giles sold the freehold to Whitbreads for £1,200. Whitbreads made a quick profit by selling in the same year to Burt's Brewery of Ventnor, for £2,500. It is not known for what period Whitbread's ales had been sold at The Volunteer, but in 1920, it was the last Whitbread house on the Island, until they returned years later.
| In 1928, Sydney Francis Mursell became tenant, having paid an ingoing to Burt & Co of £200, plus stock of £7 3s. 5d. Previously he was tenant of The Tavern, Avenue Road, Sandown, Isle of Wight. Sydney Mursell had four children, Barbara, Jean, Cyril and Laurie, two of whom were to become licensees of local pubs in their own right. Laurie was the eldest child, followed by Cyril (now deceased) who became a publican in Coventry, Jean who was a barmaid at The Mill Bay until her sister Barbara (the youngest of the children) and her husband Alan gave up the licence of The Mill Bay in the early 90's. Sydney moved to The Mill Bay Hotel, on Ventnor Esplanade in 1936 and The Volunteer was taken over by Arthur Gray, beer retailer. His stock was then valued at £14 14s. 9d. | Arthur Gray was succeeded by James Sharkey (an ex-Salvation Army captain). He married a Mrs. Harvey and was a local gas fitter, often seen riding a push bike. James Sharkey was licensee until 1951 when The Volunteer was taken over by Laurie & Jo Mursell, (Laurie was the son of Sydney Mursell). Laurie & Jo remained at The Volunteer until his retirement in October 1987, on the night of a great hurricane. He was at the time the Island's longest serving landlord. |
Laurie & Jo Mursell were succeeded by Adam & Jean Pratt in October 1987 until 1990 when the pub was placed under management by Burt's Brewery until it closed in 1992, when the brewery went into receivership.
| More recently on 1st October 1993, the property was purchased by the present owner and it was re-opened on 28th October as a free house. On researching the auction particulars, shown above, which were kindly supplied by The Ventnor Historical Society, reference is made to "Public, Jug & Private Bars and Urinal". As the smallest pub on the Isle of Wight, the three bars could only have accommodated a few thirsty customers. | Some evidence of the original internal division of the rooms still exists, but now we have one bar serving both back & front rooms. Recent improvements include central heating and hot water in the loos! During renovations in 1993, some original tongue and groove panelling and etched and brilliant cut glass, both dating back to the 19th century were rediscovered and restored. |
The Volunteer serve some of the best cask ales in town from their air-conditioned cellar and always have six real ales on hand pump, with the selection changing weekly. Six increases to ten during the annual Beer Festival in October (last week of October). Permanent resident ales are: Dorset Best 4.1%, Tanglefoot 5.0%; Ventnor Golden Bitter 4.0% (Ventnor Brewery 250 meters from The Volunteer). No food served here, but then there are no children (under 14) allowed, no fruit machines, no music, and no TV. Their second pub is The Blenheim, High Street, Ventnor. No accommodation here but try Ventnor Tourist Info
Isle of Wight map.
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© Copyright 1996-2005 Real Ale and a Bed. |
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