The Hunt Family and Brewing in Alresford, Hampshire

Introduction

Alresford, more accurately “New Alresford”, is a delightful Georgian town whose main streets – West Street, East Street and Broad Street – derive much of their architectural charm from the town’s rebuilding following past major fires, principally that of 1689, when the town was mostly destroyed.  Towards the western end of West Street, running north, is a cul de sac called Brewhouse Yard.  This name is modern but it recalls the use of buildings in this area for the brewing of beer over a period of more than 200 years.  The entrance to Brewhouse Yard is flanked by two brick pillars, which still bear the hinges from which heavy gates were hung.  The pillars are heavily scored and scraped by the passage of carts and drays.  Each pillar is topped with a coping stone bearing the single letter “H”, though the stone on the west side of the entrance is now heavily eroded.  This was the home of Hunt’s Alresford Brewery.  Out of sight beneath the surface of the ground, a cavernous cellar runs from 40A West Street some 72 metres to the rear wall of the house at 1, Brewhouse Yard, which, before domestic conversion, formed part of the brewery buildings.   The cellar was probably used for the storage of beer and wine.  So, who were the Hunts and what role did they occupy in the history of Alresford?  The following account describes an industrious and successful family whose commercial achievements as brewers are well known but whose successes actually went far beyond the manufacture of beer.

Fundamentals of Brewing

The brewing of ale is an ancient craft and was well-established in Britain before the arrival of the Romans.  Early ale used herbs, honey or other ingredients for flavouring, though by the 15^th century hops were being extensively used, giving the beverage a characteristically bitter flavour.  The terms “beer” and “ale” are often used interchangeably now, though historically “beer” was used for the hop-flavoured beverage, while “ale” did not include hops in its manufacture.  “Beer” will be used for present purposes as a portmanteau term for both hopped and un-hopped drinks.

In the Middle Ages (roughly 5^th to 15^th centuries) beer was an important part of the diet.  It was cloudy, heavy in carbohydrate, relatively flat and, by modern standards, low in alcohol.  Beer was both nutritious and safe to drink, ie, did not carry water-born disease and was consumed in large quantities, estimated at more than 60 gallons per head per year.  The ingredients of beer were and are malted cereal grains (usually barley), water, yeast and flavouring (such as hops).  Brewing consists of the following stages.  Malt is produced by soaking cereal grains in water to start the process of germination, which causes starches in the grains to be converted into sugars.  The process is stopped by drying the grains in hot air and the malted grains are then ground up. The product of this process, grist, is then mixed with hot water in a mash-tun to extract the sugars.  The resulting liquid, wort, is run into coppers to which hops are added and the mix is boiled up.  The hopped wort is then placed in fermentation vessels to which yeast is added.  Fermentation of the sugars by yeast enzymes over a period of 5 or 6 days results in the production of beer.

Beer was still being brewed at home, as well as in ale-houses, inns and breweries, well into the 19^th century and this can be seen in the goods offered for sale from house clearances.  For example in 1835 the effects of Mr Thomas White of Wield Farm, near Alresford, were auctioned and included brewing and dairy utensils.  When the Cricketers Arms at Tichborne Down was sold in 1834, it was described as having “a convenient Malthouse capable of wetting 5 quarters at any time”.  In the middle of the 19^th century beer consumption was increasing while, at the same time, beer production in inns and public houses and at home was declining.  The extra production was entirely due to commercial breweries.  The processes of beer production became scaled up and industrialised and the malting of barley and the brewing of beer were often carried our separately, by maltsters and brewers.

Alresford and Fires

As has already been remarked, serious and occasionally catastrophic fires were a frequent occurrence in the evolution of the town of Alresford.  Wooden-framed houses, thatched roofs and open hearths all contributed to the origin and propagation of fires in buildings and, along with the exposed position of the town on rising ground, to their severity.  Fires were recorded in 1440 and 1644, when Royalists, retreating after their defeat at the Battle of Cheriton, set fire to the town at both ends.  Further blazes followed in 1689, with the destruction of 117 houses, perhaps started deliberately and in 1710.  But from the point of view of this story, one of the most interesting fires occurred on Friday 7^th May 1736 because it started in a brewhouse belonging to Thomas Newell, a Common Brewer (someone producing for sale to the whole community), on the north side of West Street, the very area where Hunt’s Brewery was subsequently located.  Malthouses and brewhouses had an almost constant need for fires to dry malted grains and boil water for the brewing process, so it is not surprising that breweries and malthouses should have been the cause of conflagrations .

The 1736 fire started about 9 o’clock in the morning and burned “with great fury”, until it was brought under control about 4 o’clock the same afternoon.  An early report of the fire claimed that 33 houses were burnt to the ground and that 3 persons were missing.  A subsequent account of the damage modified this list to 17 houses completely destroyed, along with 56 “outhouses, barns, malthouses, stables, etc., with a great quantity of corn, hay, malt, stock of various sorts and household goods”, but did not mention any deaths or missing persons.  The spread of the fire appears to have been promoted by a strong wind from the north-west because it drove the flames “directly up the High Street” (West Street).  Luckily, the wind finally changed direction before the whole town was engulfed.  Apparently, there was only one fire pole available and it was lost while in use.  A fire pole was a hooked device employed to pull down walls, thatched roofs, etc., in an attempt to create a fire break.  Apparently, once news of the conflagration reached Winchester they sent “engines buckets and all other necessities”.  The consequences of the fire must have been devastating for those affected, though it was also reported that the inhabitants of Alton “though but a small place” raised £50 (>£3,000 in modern money) for the relief of those suffering in Alresford.

Hunt and Anderson, Brewers

The first member of the Hunt family known to have been involved in brewing was John Hunt, born in 1747 in New Alresford.  He is here designated “John Hunt(I)” to distinguish him from other individuals of the same name.  John Hunt(I) was related to the Newell family whose brewhouse was the source of the 1736 fire.  His aunt, Miss Ann Newell, in her Will dated 1785, bequeathed her messuage (dwelling house with outbuildings and associated land) in Broad Street to John Hunt(I) with whom “I now board and lodge”.  Ann Newell died there in 1786.  This house is now known as 15 Broad Street

In the Hampshire Directory for 1784 John Hunt was recorded as being in partnership with John Anderson as “Hunt and Anderson, Brewers”, though it is likely that this partnership started some years earlier.  In 1787 the partners were described as “Brewers and Maltsters”.  When John Anderson signed his Will in 1782, John Hunt was a witness, perhaps indicating a close personal relationship.  John Anderson died in 1787 and the beneficiaries of his will were his close relatives, Mary and Elizabeth, his sisters and Daniel Jackson, his brother in law.  The executors of the Will were instructed to convert his estate to money for both investment and distribution.  The estate included his brewing assets and Pleasant House, 33 West Street.  John Hunt(I) acquired both Anderson’s share of the brewing business and Pleasant House.  Clearly by this date John Hunt(I) had accumulated sufficient means to make the purchases, as he was not a beneficiary under John Anderson’s Will.  In the Game List for 1786 John Hunt, Alresford, Brewer, was listed as one of those members of the Hampshire gentry able to afford the 2gn fee (>£100 in modern money).

John Hunt(I) (1747 – 1826) and Pleasant House

John Hunt(I) and his family appear to have moved from 15 Broad Street (west side) to Pleasant House, 33 West Street (south side) in 1790 because in that year he advertised a house in Broad Street for let “with a very good garden and well adapted as a shop”, which was subsequently occupied by Rev Michael Terry, Rector of Ovington.  Mrs Terry, widow of the Reverend gentleman, continued to live there until 1804, when she moved out to allow John Hunt(I)’s son, John Hunt(II),  to take occupation.  He had just married Elizabeth Dancaster, daughter of the landlord of the George Inn on the east side of Broad Street.   Pleasant House, West Street had probably been rebuilt on the site of a previous house after the 1736 fire.  John Hunt(I) started paying an additional rate for a Malthouse as well as a Brewhouse in 1796.  The Brewhouse was probably located behind no. 40 West Street on the north side and the Malthouse was behind Pleasant House, no. 33 West Street , on the south side.  This Malthouse was probably constructed by John Hunt shortly after he moved to Pleasant House about 1790.  The Brewhouse was inherited by John Hunt from his aunt Ann Newell and may have been the location where the 1736 fire started.

Complications in the Genealogy of the Hunts

Understanding the genealogy of the Hunt family has proved to be quite challenging.  Not only was there a Hunt dynasty, including a John Hunt, in Southampton, who were also brewers but some of the Southampton Hunts lived in New Alresford and some of the New Alresford Hunts lived in or near, Southampton.  Further, there was a John Hunt in Bishops Sutton, 1 ½ miles east of New Alresford in the late 18^th century, who was a maltster and farmer, like his contemporary in New Alresford.  There may be a genealogical link between the various Hunt families, but none has so far been found going back to the late 18^th century and so these other Hunts will not be dealt with here.  The over-riding generalisation that can be made about the New Alresford Hunt men is that they pursued careers as traders, merchants and professionals of various hues.  They worked hard, often well into their 70s.  The Hunts, like many others of their station in society, practised endogamy – marriage with members of their own class, though they often married late and occasionally failed to produce any children.  This in turn had consequences for succession or, as at the disposal of the brewing assets in 1902, the lack of it.  Also, a significant proportion of the female children remained as spinsters.

John Hunt(I)’s wife Hannah Coope was born in 1746.  The couple married in nearby Bramdean in December 1771.  They had four known children, John (1776), Harriet (1780), Mary (1788) and Edward (1790).  Harriet did not marry, Mary married John Beckingsale, a Draper from Salisbury.  John Hunt(II) and Edward Hunt both became involved with the family brewing firm.  Hannah Hunt, John Hunt(I)’s wife died in 1837 and was described as follows in the Hampshire Advertiser.  “Her amiable and pious manners during this long life spent in the constant practice of doing good combined with a cheerfulness of temper rarely if ever equalled,  endeared her to all persons who had the happiness of her acquaintance”.  In 1818, John Hunt(I) retired at the age of 71 and in 1826 he died at Pleasant House.  Following his death the brewing, wine and spirits businesses were taken over by his sons John Hunt(II) (born 1776) and Edward Hunt (born 1790), trading as J and E Hunt.  No Will has so far been discovered for John Hunt(I), so the details of his estate and how it was distributed are presently lacking.

The Hunts and Farming

In addition to his activities in brewing and the sale of wines and spirits (see below), John Hunt(I) was also a farmer.  Indeed, it is possible that he was a farmer before he was a brewer.  In 1776 he had holdings in the Common Fields of Alresford, under strip cultivation (they were not enclosed until 1807).  The Common Fields were located mostly on the south side of East Street/West Street, between the back houses and the boundary with the Parish of Tichborne, where the New Alresford bypass is now located.  These agricultural activities were maintained for the rest of his active life. In 1791, John Hunt(I) and other occupiers of the Commons gave notice to those inhabitants who had been illegally running cattle on the common land that in future they would have their animals impounded.  In 1823, shortly before he died, John Hunt(I) was also occupying “a valuable piece of meadow ground containing about 1 acre” off Broad Street and in the same year evidence of animal keeping emerged, when Henry Morley was convicted of stealing 6 ducks from him.  Such portfolio business activities were a regular occurrence in the 18^th and 19^th centuries and the sons and grandsons of John Hunt(I) also individually conducted a variety of business activities.  John Hunt(II) and Edward Hunt, the sons of John Hunt(I) continued with farming in addition to their other activities.  In 1831 John Hunt(II) was described as a Brewer and Farmer and in the Census of 1861 Edward Hunt was revealed to be farming 181 acres.  The shareholders in Hunt and Co, Richard Hunt, Charles Edward Hunt and William Henry Hunt (see below) must also have retained some residual farming activity because their livestock and deadstock were sold off in 1902.

The Hunts Acquire a Tied Estate

From before 1788 John Hunt(I) had instituted a policy of buying up ale houses and inns to ensure an outlet for his beer.  In that year his property, the “Dog and Star” Inn, New Alresford, was advertised for let with immediate entry.  Hunt descendants in control of the brewing business carried on this policy and other properties followed.  Early in the 19^th century John Hunt(I) acquired the Sun public house in East Street and also the Globe Inn in the Soke.  In 1806 John Hunt(I) advertised the Fox public house for let.  These outlets were followed by the market inn called the “Bell” in West Street, New Alresford in 1812 and the “White Hart” (subsequently named the “Volunteers Arms”) now 35 and 35A West Street, in 1830.  Other public houses in the ownership of the Hunts were the “Rose and Crown” on the site now occupied by the New Alresford Market House, the “Brushmakers Arms” at Upham, bought by 1881, the “Prince Regent” public house in Whitchurch, bought in 1884 the “Bridge” Inn at Shawford, bought in 1885,  the “Old George” Inn at Fair Oak, also 1885, the “Albion” Inn, Winchester, 1889 and  the “Queen’s Tap” in West Street (now 20 West Street), New Alresford (1898).  In 1812 John Hunt(I) took over the business of J Butler of Salisbury, who was described as an “Importer of Foreign Spiritous Liquors”.  From that date supplying wines and spirits became an adjunct to the brewery business, which made sense with so many tied houses.

The Family of John Hunt(II)(1776 – 1861)

John Hunt(II), son of John Hunt(I), married Elizabeth Dancaster in 1804.  They are known to have had at least 7 children, 3 boys, John (born 1805), William (born 1808) and Harry and 4 girls, Elizabeth (born 1807), Hannah (born 1809), Frances (born 1811) and Ann (born 1818).  Elizabeth was the only daughter to marry, Hannah apparently dying young and Frances and Ann remaining as spinsters. 

George and Elizabeth Gunner - Chemists

Elizabeth Hunt married George Gunner in 1830.  He ran a chemist shop, first in New Alresford, on West Street near to its junction with East Street and looking down Broad Street, and then in Winchester.  The couple had no children.  George Gunner’s business seems to have been successful, since he typically employed two druggist assistants and two domestic servants.  The nature of the business can be gleaned from the products offered for sale in frequent advertisements in the Hampshire Chronicle. Concentrated disinfecting solutions of chloride of soda and lime, Kemp’s Vegetable Ointment, the Infallible Fly and Lear Powder, Anti-callosity or Russian corn and bunion plaister, Church’s Cough Drops, Church’s Pectoral pills, Ford’s Balsam of Horehound, Patent self-adjusting trusses and the cryptically-named Kearsley’s original Widow Welch’s female pills!  In 1845 George Gunner, by now a Member of the Pharmaceutical Society, moved to St Thomas Street, Winchester, where he took over the chemist business of the deceased John Earle.  In addition to the usual mix of miracle cures he also became a manufacturer of “Soda, Seltzer, Potass, Magnesia, Lime and other aerated waters”.  He also did not shirk from using his wife as an example (presumably paid) of a patient who had had her corns painlessly removed by visiting foot surgeon, Mr Young, who peppered his newspaper advertisements with endorsements by local people of standing.

Harry Hunt – Royal Marine

Harry Hunt, another son of John Hunt(II), appears to have been an officer in the Royal Marines and to have gone to sea but nothing is currently known about his career.

William Hunt - Draper

William Hunt, born in 1808, became a draper and had a shop in New Alresford, next to the Swan Inn in West Street.  He took over the business of the Houghton family and announced that the business would continue as before “with every department of the Linen Drapery, Haberdashery, Hosiery and Mercery Business will be conducted by him.  Gentlemen’s clothes and liveries made to order.  Funerals completely furnished”.  Tragically, by 1861, William had succumbed to a mental condition so severe that he was incarcerated in the Laverstock House Lunatic Asylum in Salisbury, from which he appears never to have emerged.  This institution was well known in the region and, in addition to disruptive paupers and insane criminals, also took private patients at a cost of 14/- per week (about £60 in modern money).

John Hunt(III) (1805 – 1885) – Agricultural Supplies Merchant

John Hunt(III), son of John Hunt(II), was born in 1805 and carved out a highly successful business career as a Corn and Coal Merchant in Shirley, near Southampton.  Progressively, he branched out into other services and supplies needed by the agricultural community, such as becoming an agent for Poittevin’s patented disinfected manure (made from excrement!), producing malt and becoming an agent for the main manufacturers of agricultural equipment,  implements and engines, such as ploughs, horse rakes, clod crushers, cart wheels, axels and waggons, rollers, liquid manure drills, steam engines and combined thrashing, shaking, riddling and winnowing machines.  He supplied equipment from such well known manufacturers as Hornsby, Clayton and Shuttleworth, Fowler, Garrett, and Ransome and Sims.    In addition, he was an agent for the Farmers’ Fire and Life Assurance Office and a Nursery Seedsman and he regularly manned display stands at the major agricultural shows in the country.  After retiring from business in 1867, he moved to Cowes on the Isle of Wight, where he bought and let 4 tenements in West Cowes.   John Hunt(III) married Anne Charlotte Crouch in 1831but they failed to produce any children.  After the death of his wife he went to live with his unmarried niece, Elizabeth Hunt at 2 Portland Place, Southampton, where he died in 1885.  At that time his personal estate was valued at a little over £1,911 (about £172,000 in modern money), but his real estate, whose worth must have been substantial, has not been discovered.

Edward Hunt (1790 – 1873)

Edward Hunt (born 1790), son of John Hunt(I), went into partnership with his elder brother John Hunt(II) to manage the brewery and wine and spirit business, on the death of their father in 1826.  Interestingly, Edward also pursued a career as an architect and surveyor.  His father John Hunt(I) also had skills as a surveyor.  In 1807 he and William Harris were appointed as surveyors to manage the enclosure of common land in New Alresford.  Edward Hunt married Elizabeth Jones of Lymington in 1820 and the couple had a substantial family of 11 children, 6 boys and 5 girls, between 1821 and 1837.  Five of the children died young (Edward, John, Elizabeth, Hannah and Walter) and Marianne never married.  Harriett (born 1828) married Thomas Charlton who eventually became a brewer in Fakenham, Norfolk and Sarah (born 1832) married Edward Chaston.  Inconveniently, the couple married and Edward Chaston died between the 1861 and 1871 Censuses.  Sarah then returned to New Alresford and took up residence with her 5 children in the Old Post House in Broad Street.

Richard Hunt – Pharmaceutical Chemist 

Richard Hunt, son of Edward Hunt, became a chemist, with a shop initially at 52 The High Street in Winchester, but later at Weeke, on the outskirts of the city.  In his entry in the 1871 Census return Richard Hunt was employing 2 assistant chemists and 2 female servants, so it can be presumed that his business was successful.  The remaining 2 sons of Edward Hunt, Charles Edward (born 1831) and William Henry (born 1834) both had significant careers and were involved with the brewery.  They will be dealt with in detail later. 

J and E Hunt, Brewers and Spirit Merchants

Pigot’s Directory for 1828 lists the Hunt brothers as follows “Hunt J&E Brewers and Spirit Merchants”.  The 1844 edition of the same directory had an expanded entry under Maltsters - “John and Edward Hunt (and Spirit Merchants, Brewers and Coopers), West Street”.  Other local maltsters were John Howe in the Dean and James Wedge in Broad Street, both in New Alresford, Charles Major, Old Alresford and Johnson Loe, Bishop’s Sutton.  John Hunt(II) was probably the senior partner in the brewing business.  In the 1851 Census he was described as a Brewer and Farmer of 116 acres.  He was also an employer of 4 agricultural labourers and 6 men in the Brewhouse.

The Fire of 1857

The fire of 1736 was not the only conflagration to have its origin in West Street brewery premises.  There was another fire in 1795 in John Hunt(I)’s Malthouse behind Pleasant House, 33 West Street, though the existence of this fire is currently only known from reports of a further fire in 1857.  At about 3pm on the afternoon of Sunday 24^th May, 1857, a fire broke out in the kiln of the Malthouse behind 33 West Street.  Help to fight the fire was quickly organised amongst the citizenry and the damage was restricted to the building in which the fire originated.  Loss from the fire was mainly confined to the malt on the kiln and floor and to the structure of the building itself.  The stores of malt and hops on the premises were saved.  However, it had been necessary to strip the roof of a small connecting building to secure the dwelling house.  Fortunately, the site was insured.  As an expression of gratitude, the Hunts printed and circulated hand bills thanking the inhabitants of New Alresford for their “kind assistance so cordially and willingly rendered”.

The Fire of 1869

There was one further serious fire, described in the local newspapers as the “largest fire that has happened in this town for many a year”, this time on the other side of West Street.  About 4.30pm on Saturday 5^th June 1869 smoke was seen coming from a thatched barn belonging to the Hunts and the town fire engine was called for immediately.  This barn, which still exists, is now shared between 1 Brewhouse Yard and 40A West Street.  The fire developed rapidly and in a very short time it had spread to other barns, stables, a cart-house, a granary and other buildings, together with a workshop occupied by Mr F Smith.  Burning fragments flew right over the houses of Mr Moss and Dr Vines and set fire to a stable at the White Hart public house, close to the house of Mrs Stubbs.  The volunteers fighting the fire realised that all they could do to help was to protect adjoining buildings not yet on fire.  They pulled down the building separating Mrs Stubbs’ house from the burning stable and halted the fire’s spread. Help was then called for by telegram from neighbouring Winchester.  However, the Winchester Fire Brigade initially declined to respond because the request for help from New Alresford omitted to guarantee to meet Winchester’s expenses.  Winchester had been caught out by non-payers in the past and had instituted this policy of requiring a prior guarantee before they would set out.  However, they did seek and obtained a guarantee from a gentleman in Winchester but the Brigade was then unable to leave because they could not secure any horses!  Winchester presumably communicated this embarrassing fact to New Alresford because they now turned to their neighbours to the east in Alton.  Alton’s response was magnificent.  Without waiting for any guarantee the Volunteer Fire Brigade assembled and travelled the 10 miles to New Alresford, arriving only 45 minutes from receipt of the telegram.  By the time the Alton force had arrived at 7pm the fire was under control but they were kept busy for the next 2 days damping down the embers.  There was subsequently a lot of heart-searching in Winchester when the City Fathers realised that they could have been seen as contributing to a major disaster.

Alresford Brewery, Hunt & Co

In 1860 John Hunt(II) retired from the brewing business at the age of 80.  Two years later the partnership of J and E Hunt was formally dissolved and the business continued under the sole stewardship of Edward Hunt.  One of Edward’s contributions to the business was to travel to Burton on Trent, a major brewing centre, to learn the process of making Pale Ale, a heavily hopped light beer which depended upon the mineral content of the local Burton water for its properties.  About this time the chemical analysis of the water used at Burton on Trent led to the production of “Burton Salts” which allowed Pale Ale to be brewed anywhere.  Hunts’ Brewery probably started manufacturing Pale Ale about 1863, since they subsequently advertised the product heavily in the following terms.  “Alresford Brewery.  Hunt & Co Respectfully recommend their Pale Ale.   18 gallon casks 22s, 9 gallon casks 11/6.”  The cost in modern money would have been about £100/£50. Edward Hunt retired from the business in 1866 at the age of 76.  He died at Pleasant House in 1873.

Edward Hunt, Brewer, Auctioneer, Surveyor and Architect

In 1816, before his father John Hunt(I) had retired from the brewing business, Edward Hunt began his career as a building surveyor and auctioneer, when he went into partnership with local man William Keene Jr.  Over the next 3 years Hunt and Keene mostly advertised houses for sale by auction, though they sometimes diverted into household effects and livestock.  From 1819 Keene appears to have operated independently from his former partner and in 1820 Edward Hunt was described as a “Surveyor and Brewer”.  By 1825 Edward Hunt had also branched out into architecture and he designed the new weighbridge house.  In 1835 he designed the Workhouse at Tichborne Down for the Guardians of the Alresford Poor Law Union and oversaw the building’s construction.  The Workhouse, which could originally accommodate 260 inmates, continued in this use until 1930, when it became known as the Alresford Public Assistance Institution.  At a later date it served as Tichborne Down Hospital.  Part of the building survives today as housing.  Although it has been modified, many of its original features remain.  It is a plain and uninspiring building, as befits its original utilitarian purpose, though the entrance block fronting Tichborne Down, which contained the Guardians’ Board Room, has an imposing door and doorway.  On completion, the Guardians of the Poor treated themselves to a dinner at the Swan Inn.  “The evening was spent in the greatest harmony”.   Edward Hunt also designed the workhouses for Alderbury and Wilton, both in Wiltshire.  These buildings are less austere and have more redeeming architectural features that his drab offering at Tichborne Down.  Another public building (no longer standing) which was designed by Edward Hunt was the Parochial School building erected in the Dean, New Alresford in 1852.

Various members of the Hunt family acted as agents for the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation, including John Hunt(III) at Shirley, William Hunt (born 1808) approximately 1840 – 1852, Charles Edward Hunt (born 1831) approximately 1853 - 1865 and William Henry Hunt (born 1834) approximately 1865 – 1898.

William Henry Hunt (1834 – 1914) Surveyor and Architect

William Henry Hunt was born in 1835 and the youngest son of Edward Hunt to survive into adulthood.  He attended Perins Grammar School in New Alresford, just a few yards from his home, down the hill in West Street.  In the returns for the 1851 Census he is recorded as a 16 year old living with his father and mother, Edward and Elizabeth Hunt, at Pleasant House.  His occupation is given as an Articled Surveyor.  Clearly William Henry had decided to follow the other part of his father’s career, dealing with land and buildings and not to become a brewer.  William Henry Hunt also qualified as an architect and one of his first commissions was to plan some modifications and refurbishment of the New Alresford Parish church, St John the Baptist, in 1857.  The work consisted of renewing the pews to the ground floor, erecting a new Vestry building and rearranging the galleries.  By this time he had an office in West Street and in the 1859 edition of White’s Directory he was listed as an architect.  One of his earliest designs for a completely new building was the Congregational Chapel in the nearby village of Cheriton in 1862.  This pleasing building still survives, though despoiled by a roll shutter door at the front.

William Henry Hunt and Alresford Market House

William Henry Hunt’s best known and most prominent building in modern New Alresford is the so-called “Community Centre” lying on the south side of West Street, close to its junction with Broad Street and East Street.  It was built in 1865 – 1866 and was initially known as the Market House, though later it was renamed the Town Hall.  The stimulus for its building was the proposal to construct a railway joining Winchester to Alton, which was to include a station at Alresford.  The anticipated increase in business activity in the town, coupled with the then inadequate accommodation for business and civic activities led to the formation of the Alresford Market House Company Limited, which published a prospectus to raise funds for the construction of the building.  Both Charles Edward Hunt and William Henry Hunt were prominent in the AMHC Ltd, being appointed to its provisional committee.  The money required for the building was readily subscribed and William Henry Hunt was commissioned to design the building.  The structure was to be located on the site of the Rose and Crown public house.  The citizenry of New Alresford was delighted to see the Rose and Crown demolished, since it had been the gathering place for tramps and other undesirables.  As a result they “have become almost unknown in the town in which they notoriously had abounded”!   

William Henry Hunt produced a fine, imposing building in the Italian style, which is an integral part of the street scene in today’s New Alresford.  The building still bears the crest and initials “AMHCL”.  Contemporary descriptions detail the initial uses to which the building was put.    On the ground floor were a Settling Room for market purposes and a Reading Room, which could accommodate both the Library and the Scientific Institute.  Upstairs was an Assembly Room.  The contractors for the building were Messrs J Fowler of Alresford and Duke of Fareham.  The building took 6 months for construction and only exceeded the budget of £1500 (about £132,000 in modern money) by “a few pounds”.  By 1865 trains were running between Alton and New Alresford and the Market House was inaugurated with a public dinner, attended by a distinguished group of attendees, on 22 March 1866.  William Henry Hunt was appointed Secretary of the AMHC Ltd and he announced that the Market House would be formally opened for business on Thursday 12^th April 1866.

William Henry Hunt – Other Commissions

In 1864 William Henry Hunt designed the Hurdle House of the north side of the road to Bishops Sutton.  The following year (1865) he was commissioned by the Guardians of the Alresford Union, acting as the Local Authority for the Removal of Nuisances, to lay a sewer down the length of The Dean, 950ft of “15in glazed socket stoneware pipes with deodorising apparatus”.  It seems likely that the stink of leaking sewage in The Dean had become unbearable.  No comprehensive list of William Henry Hunt’s commissions is available but it is known that the following were amongst them.  He designed a triumphal arch, which was placed in the churchyard at Alresford, when the eldest daughter of the rector, Rev William Brodie, married Rev Sydney Gillum (1866).  The following year, 1867, he designed farm buildings at Ropley Court Farm, followed by the enlargement of Andwell Mill, near Basingstoke (1868), the erection of a Dwelling house, Grocer’s Shop, Bakehouse and Stores together with a 3-stall Stable Van and Straw-houses, etc, for Mr TW Royle at Bishop’s Suton  (1869) and  the re-pewing and paving the church of St Andrew, Meonstoke  (1869).  William Henry Hunt was responsible for an extension of the Alresford Workhouse, to include a “Washroom, Lavatory, etc” (1868), a dwelling house and store for William Ivy near Medstead Station (1868), a school at Ropley (1868), Westholme, no. 36, on the north side of West Street (1868),  a house and offices at Lyewood, Ropley (1871), a new school at Itchen Abbas (1874), the layout in Broad Street for the planting of standard Limes and Norway Maples (1877), two houses in The Dean, New Alresford for Mr Vickers (1878) and  alterations and additions to Cheriton House, for Capt Pigott (1882).  During the celebrations of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1887, the whole of Alresford was extensively decorated.   At the head of Broad Street was a large triumphal arch designed by William Henry Hunt, which was erected by Messrs F Eddolls and H Spary (1887). The Fire Station in Broad Street, New Alresford (1883), extensions and alterations to the Old National School in the Dean, New Alresford (1888), the new Town Mill, New Alresford (1893), erection of new vagrant wards, laundry, engine house, and other alterations at the Alresford Workhouse (1899) and a plan for Arclyd Garden which lay behind 13 – 17 West Street, New Alresford (1904) constituted his late commissions.  In 1890 a lady, Elizabeth Sansom, was killed at Hinton Ampner and a 22 year old local man, Harry Wright was charged with her murder.  William Hunt appeared at the trial as an expert witness, providing detailed plans of the locality around the murder scene.  Without doubt he was both very busy and, in local terms, very successful in his chosen career.

William Henry Hunt and Westholme

In 1862 William Henry Hunt bought “All that messuage with backside, garden, malt house and outhouses” situated on the north side of West Street, New Alresford.  Although the advertisement did not say so, this house was 38 West Street.  A few years later he bought the adjacent house, 36 West Street and demolished it so that he could design and built a grand house for his own occupation, which he called “Westholme”.  This house no longer sports the name but is numbered 36 and is presently occupied by Design Realities.  It has some interesting features, including the double bowed front which is carried up into the roof, construction from very bright red bricks with red-coloured mortar and an imposing main entrance in the left hand bow.  At the top of the main door surround on the left hand side is “WHH” – William Henry Hunt - in entwined script and on the right hand side, “1868”, the year of construction.  On either side of the door is a bell push, one marked “Visitors” and one marked “Servants”, reminding us of the social hierarchy of Victorian times.  The chimney pots are of an unusual design and the cast iron guttering follows the curves of the bowed front façade.  The existing cellar was retained and lined in red brick, to be used as a wine and beer cellar.

William Henry Hunt died at Westholme in 1914.  He had become relatively wealthy through his activities as an architect and the gross value of his estate was stated at a little over £20,053 (about £1.6M in modern money).  He was buried in the graveyard at St John the Baptist, New Alresford in a tomb shared with several members of his family.  The tomb stone is in polished pink/grey granite and of a design quite unlike any other in the churchyard.  Sadly for William, the lettering on his panel of the gravestone has not been competently incised, though his memorial will no doubt outlast those of most of his co-inhabitants.

Houses Owned by the Hunts

The New Alresford houses owned or owned and occupied by the Hunt family are all substantial and prominent, reflecting their economic success and today making a substantial contribution to New Alresford’s attraction.  Pleasant House, 33 West Street, was owned by John Hunt(I) from 1787 and occupied from about 1790.  John Hunt(I) died there in 1826 but from 1820 his son Edward lived in the house too.  Edward died at Pleasant House in 1876 and it was then occupied by his son Charles Edward and his wife Ann.  Charles Edward Hunt died there in 1906.

Number 15, Broad Street, currently occupied by the Caricoli Coffee Shop, was inherited by John Hunt(I) in 1787 from his aunt, Ann Newell.  It seems to have been let until 1804 when it was occupied by John Hunt(II) on his marriage to Elizabeth Dancaster.  It is unclear when the Hunts disposed of 15 Broad Street.

Number 40, West Street also appears to have been inherited by John Hunt(I) from Ann Newell.  John Hunt(II) went to live there in 1831 and it was given the name “Brewery House”.  From about 1871 Brewery House was occupied by the Brewery Clerk.  For more than 20 years that person was William Jackson, who lived at No 40 with his family.  In 1901 the Brewery Clerk had changed to Herbert Chatfield.

Beresford House, Pound Hill, was bought by one Robert Yalden in 1803.  However, Robert and his wife, Betty (nee  Godwin) had no children and so the house was inherited by her sister, Elizabeth Dancaster the wife of John Hunt(II) and then passed on to her eldest son, John Hunt(III).  Beresford House was never occupied by the Hunts.

Alresford Brewery 1874 – 1902, the Final Phase

Edward Hunt wrote his Will in 1865 and died in 1874.  He appointed his sons Richard, Charles Edward, William Henry and daughter, Marianne, as his executors.  There was detailed provision for his wife, children and grandchildren but the residue of his estate, a substantial part, was left to his sons Richard, Charles Edward and William Henry.  Edward Hunt had contracted with his 3 surviving sons to sell the brewery to them on his death.  They continued as part owners of the brewery and associated businesses but with Charles Edward Hunt in day to day managerial control.  This made sense because Richard was a successful chemist and William Henry a successful architect.  The brewery was by then known as the Alresford Brewery and the business as Hunt & Co.  It continued to thrive under Charles Edward Hunt’s management.  By 1881 it was employing 2 clerks and 14 labourers in the brewery.  Charles Edward Hunt married late in life.  In 1871 he was 40 and still living in the parental home but by 1881 he had married Ann who was about the same age as Charles.  The couple did not have a family and business seems to have been the main interest in Charles’ life.    By 1898 the company had initiated another venture when they also become coal merchants, operating from a depot at Alresford Station.   In 1902 Charles Hunt had reached the age of 71 and was in failing health.  He had no sons who might have been interested in continuing to run the brewery and related businesses and none of the children of his brothers and sisters were so inclined either.  The 3 partners in the business decided to offer the company with its brewery, wine and spirit business and tied public houses for sale.  At the time Hunts owned 6 out of 11 fully-licenses premises in New Alresford as well as other public houses in the vicinity.

Sale of Hunt & Co to Crowleys

The business was sold to Crowley and Co, Brewers, Alton, who had clearly bought it to acquire the tied houses, because the new owner immediately stopped brewing in New Alresford put up for sale, by auction, all of the brewery equipment.  It was detailed in a notice in the local press.  “Notice of the sale of the whole brewery plant, including vertical 4hp steam engine, an 8hp boiler by Horton and Sons, with all fittings and Bailey and Co’s gauge, large oak mash bin with gun metal rakes, large dome copper and copper wort pump, several large brewing coppers, tanks and vats, quantity of shafting, iron girders, iron hooping, and a large quantity copper, lead, and iron piping and taps etc.,  also a 2-wheel dog cart by Hutchings, one light spring brewer’s cart by Hetherington, iron-arm dung cart &c…”  Apparently Crowleys continued to use the West Street brewery site for storage purposes after brewing ceased.

Disposal of Other Hunt Assets

The Hunts sold off live and dead stock from their remaining farming interests and also, separately, some of their land and property holdings.  The property holdings on offer were detailed in the local newspaper.  “Notice of sale of valuable freehold properties consisting of house, blacksmith’s shop and yard with sheds situate in West-street and in the occupation of Mr Smith: a small yard containing open shed and store adjoining: the valuable freehold premises adjoining fitted as a bookseller’s and stationer’s shop with frontage to West-street: three well-built cottages in Jacklyn’s-lane, with large gardens in rear: a valuable freehold meadow containing 0a 2r 27p with a large frontage of 150ft to Jacklyn’s-lane: the Accommodation Meadow adjoining the railway, with good frontage, and containing 1a 1r 38p; the very valuable piece of freehold land containing 4a 3r 7p in Jacklyn’s-lane and now used as allotment gardens: and the valuable building land containing 10a 0r 35p with large frontage, which Messrs James Harris and Son have been favoured with instructions by Messrs Hunt and Co to sell by auction at the Swan Hotel, Alresford on Thursday June 5^th 1902 at 3.30 o’clock in lots.  Particulars with plans and conditions of sale may be obtained of Messrs Shield and Mackenzie, solicitors, Alresford; and of auctioneers, Winchester”.  After his retirement and the sale of the brewing business, Charles Edward Hunt and his wife, Ann continued to live at Pleasant House, 33 West Street.  They both died in 1906.

Following the deaths of Charles Edward Hunt and his wife, Pleasant House was sold.  It was described as being a “well-built freehold residence” with “charming old walled-in gardens, beautifully kept, well and tastefully arranged, productive kitchen garden with peach shelter, conservatory forcing houses, etc”.  It also possessed a compact stable, coach house and harness room.  Further items offered for sale were a plot of land extending to almost an acre fronting Station Road, 37 £10 shares in the Alresford Gas Company and 22 £5 shares in the Alresford Market House Company.

In the 1911 edition of Kelly’s Directory there are no longer any commercial entries for the Hunt family in New Alresford.  The 1911 Census lists William Henry Hunt as a 76 year old retired architect and surveyor living with his 46 year old spinster daughter, Louisa Elizabeth at Westholme, West Street.  William Henry’s German wife, Carolina, had already died by Census day and he died in September 1914, practically terminating the Hunt family’s long connection with New Alresford.  After the death of William Henry Hunt his daughter, Louisa Elizabeth, continued to live there as a virtual recluse for about another 30 years.  Sadly, all of William Henry Hunt’s professional papers appear to have been lost.

The Hunts’ Legacy

The Hunts may now be gone from New Alresford but there is a visual legacy, if one knows where to look, of the benefits this family brought to the town. Edward Hunt’s Workhouse may barely attract a passing glance today but the buildings designed by his son William Henry, the Fire Station, Westholme, the Town Mill and the Market House, regularly attract the attention of present-day visitors.  The most prominent surviving brewing artefact is the Malthouse at the rear of Pleasant House, which is visible from West Street and easily recognisable with its prominent roof vents, the successor to the one destroyed by fire in 1869 and a pleasing reminder of past activities.  However, the entrance to Brewhouse Yard with its brick pillars heavily scored from the passage of innumerable carts and drays is the best indicator of the level of commercial activity which the brewing business generated.  This hard-working and talented family deserves to be remembered in the archives of New Alresford history.

Don Fox

20161803

donaldpfox@gmail.com