August 2024. Alton. Hampshire.
A short (“cheeky”) trip out with the in-laws to Southampton, and a short stop on the way back to Kent in an unsung Hampshire town.
The trick with octogenarians is to find a town with a central car park with free disabled spots, a small, walkable town centre,
and a stream that reminds them they need to go to the loo before getting back in the car in an hour’s time.
I always reckon you need a good half dozen visits to the average UK town to get a feel for the place (Ramsgate – 2 dozen), so only one to go in Alton.
The town centre is a bit workaday, but it all picks up heading east towards the Church of St. Lawrence, with 16th century almshouses and weird berries.
St Lawrence itself is a real NCSS 4 of a church,
from robust door,
to quality Biblical selections,
to inspiring stained glass.
Something for everyone,
though most attention is on the rare wall paintings and a Civil War history section.
3 points for guessing what’s behind this screen.
In the churchyard Michael grilled a local on the ancient American trees,
while I tried and failed to recall my ancient visit to the Eight Bells.
In truth, the best bet pubwise is still the Railway Arms by the railway, and central Alton looks a little forlorn in places.
But as an hour’s stop, it went down better than the alternative suggestion of Basingstoke.
retiredmartin 
Surely Basingstoke is the answer only if Maidenhead is closed.
I love the memorial plaque to the MP, though I’m saddened to find that he was elected for the new constituency of East Hampshire, including Alton, albeit with a very small majority. Is despair an appropriate response?
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Maidenhead is the M4, Will. I’ll do Thatcham that day.
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The south of England seems to be just one big motorway to me. I’m constantly amazed by the amount of driving you do, while remaining relatively well adjusted.
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Alton: Once home to Courage’s APA, a pale brewed in the town, using Farnham hops.
Sold within a very limited range – Ripley in Surrey was as close as it came to London – it was nectar in my late ‘teens and early twenties.
And then Courage turned into a chemical factory beside the M4.
O tempora, o mores!!!!
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Wasn’t the Alton Brewery where Director’s Bitter was reputed to have originated?
I also remember, from my short time working for Bass in the late 70’s, that Courage sold them the Alton brewery, as it was surplus to requirements once that chemical factory, next to the M4 came on stream.
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I’ve heard that story before, first from the Guvnor at The Ship, a small pub in Ripley where I first got the taste for APA back in the ’60s and I suspect it’s true, even though Directors was a poor imitation!
Likewise, your sad tale of the sale of the Alton brewery is as it was related at the time.
NB. It also marked the end of Farnham hops. Am I allowed to cry?!
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Mention Alton Brewery nowadays and the youngsters think you mean Peakstones Rock. I intended going to Alton this month but the X41 driver wouldn’t accept my bus pass.
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I take it the Eight Bells was closed it has very traditional lunchtime and evening hours. Its pretty much our local on a Tuesday evening at 5pm after our groups walk which somehow always seem to be somewhere around Alton. The Flowerpots Perridge Pale at £4 a pint is always spot on and better than at the breweries pub in Cheriton.
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It wasn’t a pub stop or else the Eight Bells would have been definite, Tony.
I pointed out the George and the French Horn (?) on the Butts on the way in, two nice looking ex GBG pubs.
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The Ship in Ripley was an excellent pub in the 70s, though I only visited it on a few occasions. By then, the beer was Courage Best Bitter from the old Simonds brewery in Reading; the Courage brewery in Alton had closed in September 1969, so I never got to try Alton bitter (though it would have had to be truly spectacular to be better than the Reading-brewed bitter, which was a superlative beer). It was a very sad day when the Reading brewery closed in 1979.
As for Directors Bitter, according to a Courage advertisement from 1980, “in 1950 the Alton Brewery in Hampshire produced two bottled beers, Alton Red which was naturally conditioned and Alton Blue, a bright version of the same brew. The directors of Courage persuaded their head brewer to put some Alton Red in cask and it was kept strictly for their delectation. Guest of the directors sampled the beer and spoke of its quality and a small public demand for it grew. Eventually it was out into a few pubs under the name of Alton IPA. But local knew this was the beer the brewery directors drank and one publican produced his own hand written sign “Directors Bitter”. I suspect this story may not be wholly accurate, but who knows? There were certainly two different labels for bottled Alton IPA in the 1950s. By the 1960s, if not before, Alton Bitter (APA) and Directors Bitter (ADB) were two separate beers, and Alton Bitter was quite widely available.
The brewery that was sold to Bass (in 1980) was in fact the Harp Lager brewery, which was opened in 1962. This was close to but separate from both the Courage brewery and the former Crowley’s brewery, which was taken over by Watney’s in 1947 and closed in 1970.
John Lester
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Many thanks for the fascinating history, John.
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The Ten Tun Tap House is the place to go in Alton.
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The Railway has long been the best place to start and finish a stroll around Alton. Eight Bells and the George are decent, while the French Horn and the Swan can be worth a look.
Perridge Pale is a pint I always enjoy when in the area, while Triple fff is a good brewery.
Gareth C
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I don’t know Perridge, Gareth, but the Triple fff Moonshine from down the road is a favourite. Nice town.
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