By Nick Pollard
The Harrow pub is situated on the main road in the centre of Charlton Village and is a rare example of a thatched building in this area. It probably dates from the 16th or early 17th century and may be the oldest building in Spelthorne to be a public house. However, it seems that for much of its life it was a private home, and didn’t become a pub until 1852 when its first licensee, William Lock, is listed in the licensing records.
Lock stayed at the Harrow until 1874 and combined his trade with that of a market gardener, which may be how the Harrow got its name. Henry Bennett took over in 1875, to be followed by his wife (possibly widow) Emma in 1879. They did not actually own the building though, the freehold having been acquired by W.A. Mitchinson of Sunbury in 1873.
In 1907, Edwin Carter Unsted took on the licence. He had been an Inspector with the Metropolitan Police at Hampton and became the landlord after his retirement. Most of the job of actually running the pub seems to have been left to his wife and daughters! The post-card to the left shows the pub during his tenancy, and it was even smaller than it is today, as the doorway to the right of centre led to a separate cottage under the same roof, the garden of which was fenced off. There was no piped water, mains drainage or electricity, the water being supplied via a pump outside the front door, which is still in place today. Inside there was a small bar, with a separate sitting room to the left, accessed from the bar. The window at the front of the sitting room was used for ‘jug and bottle’ sales, effectively an off-licence where people could collect beer for consumption off the premises. Sweets were also sold to local children from this window – children were not allowed in pubs in those days! All seven Unsted daughters served behind the bar at different times, and one of them, Edith, lived in the separate cottage to the side from the late 1920s until 1977, when at the age of 100 she went into a residential home. The cottage was later incorporated into the pub as a restaurant, and the sitting room on the left became part of the bar.
‘A Slice of Eel Pie – the Story of Eel Pie Island’ will be the subject of the next meeting of the Sunbury and Shepperton Local History Society on Tuesday 16th January at Halliford School, Russell Road, Shepperton.
The talk starts at 8pm and all are welcome, admission £2 for non-members.