YOU might think Basingstoke is blessed with lots of pubs to enjoy a drink, but website closedpubs.co.uk has been logging the closure of the town's watering holes.
We've found nine pubs that have closed in Basingstoke over the years, some of which you might just remember...
The Angel Inn
The Angel Inn was situated in Market Place. Now demolished, a branch of Barclays Bank stands on the site.
The Basingstoke Assembly rooms were over the stable/outbuildings belonging to the Angel. When the balls were no longer held here the room reverted to a hayloft.
Basingstoke’s first post office was in Winchester Street in 1808. It was run by Robert Cottle in his general stores. He fitted a postal aperture in the wall of the shop where people could put their mail when he was closed.
Until 1850, this mail was put into a postbag every night at 10pm and taken along to the Angel Inn, in the Market Place, for the stagecoach driver to sort out for the different towns he was passing through.
Novelist Jane Austen, who was born in a nearby village, attended dances at the Angel in the late 1700s. When it closed in the 1860s, a new Angel Inn was built soon after on the corner of Wote Street and Potters Lane.
The Barge Inn
The Barge Inn was situated in Wote Street. This pub closed in the 1960s for area redevelopment, by which time it was known as The Goat & Barge.
The Castle
The Castle was situated in Old Reading Road. The pub was demolished to make way for the new John Lewis at home and Waitrose store.
The George
The George Hotel was situated at 1 London Street. This pub was previously known as The Hole In The Wall and is now used as a pizza restaurant.
The Hammer and Tongs
The Hammer & Tongs was situated in Old Worting Road. This pub closed in 2012.
The Hare & Hounds
The Hare & Hounds was situated at 100 Flaxfield Road.
The Hop Leaf
Date of photo: 1978
The Hop Leaf was situated at 21 Upper Church Street. Previously known as The Black Boy, this timber-framed building was host to an inn by the early 18th Century. Since then, the road name has changed (to simply Church Street) and the building has been a hotel, tavern and bar with a succession of names.
The Black Boy name apparently referred to King Charles I, to whom people said "You have blacked your reputation, boy" after his defeat at the battle of Naseby in 1645.
In the 1950s the name was deemed racist so The Black Boy Hotel became the Hop Leaf. During the 1970s it was occasionally home to the Basingstoke Folk Club.
By the mid 2000s it was McCarthy's Bar.
By the early 2010s it was a bar known as Censo, which closed in January 2013.
The Litten Tree
The Litten Tree was situated at 29-33 Winchester Street. This pub is now used as a Chinese restaurant.
The Three Barrels
The Three Barrels was situated at the Winklebury Centre and is now in commercial use.
Are there any others that you remember that are not on this list? Let us know by commenting below.
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