History

The village of Longstock is situated on the western slope of the river test valley. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Stoches, and in Old English ‘stoche’ means place or dwelling. The Manor of Longstock was held at the time by Hugh, son of Osmund. It then passed to the Briwere family who held it for over a century until it was given to William de Percy.

The manor subsequently reverted to the Crown when Henry of Lancaster became Henry IV. Various leases of Longstock Estate were made by the monarchy, with James I granting it to the trustees of the Earl of Southampton. Through marriage and descent it was conveyed to the third Duke of Portland. The Duke allegedly frequented an inn in Andover, but never settled his account in cash, and so to discharge his debt to the landlord, he parted with Longstock. The manor was purchased By Sir Joshua East in the 19th century and inherited by his sons. The actual Manor House, renamed Longstock House , was bought in 1946 by John Spedan Lewis, the successful high street retailer and founder of the John Lewis Partnership. The house served as his residence for some years until it was converted into a club for his company executives.

The thatched cottage which was originally on the site of the Peat Spade functioned as an ale house as far back as the 18th century. On the 13th April 1723 a license was granted to Joseph Latchman of Longstock “to keep a common Alehouse, or Victualling house, and to utter and sell Breade, and other Victuals, Beer, Ale and other Excitable Liquors, By Retail, in the same house in which he now Dwelleth.” Latchman lived in the house from 1715 until 1726. He was succeeded by John Martin.

In the 1830s William Barnes bought the property, demolished it and built the current building. The 1840 tithe apportionment lists the property as “one public House, with Yard, Outbuildings and Garden 0 acre 1 rod 7 perches.” Barnes had to pay a tithe of 2s 1d per annum to the Parish. The name of the inn is derived from the digging of peat near the river. It is recorded that one former Lord of the Manor, William Etwall of Andover, allowed his labourers to dig as much fuel as they could manage in a day. The Inn became a reminder of this, and until 1939 a real peat spade with an extra-long blade hung from the ironwork on the house.

Constructed in the Victorian Gothic style, The Peat Spade stands today almost exactly as it was designed in the 1830s. The inn is constructed in red brick with a red slate roof and large overhanging wooden eves. It has many original features, the most impressive of which are the unusual cast iron window frames on the south and east elevations, with their many elongated diamond and square panes of glass. The windows, together with the gothic arched main entrance doorway and panels of flint rubble stone arranged in the brick walls in diamond and cross patterns all give the building an ecclesiastical quality. Its many beautiful architectural features make the inn a prominent landmark in the area.

The second half of the 19th century witnessed several changes of publican: William Bulpett in 1859, then William Mayton in 1867 and after him Moses Edney in 1875. Joseph Needle held a longer tenancy, from 1880 until 1895.

It was at the turn of the 20th century that the Peat Spade briefly occupied a unique place in the history of rural Hampshire. The Public House Trust Movement was founded in 1901 to promote temperance by removing the element of private profit from the sale of alcoholic drinks. The trustees, who included the Lord Bishop of Southwark, intended to pay inn keepers salaries with commission only on food and non-alcoholic drinks, thus reducing their dependence on the breweries. In Hampshire, Lord Northbrook and The Bishop of Winchester established the Hampshire Public House Trust Company. On the 6th July 1901, the Company “entered upon the tenancy of the Peat Spade”, its first venture.

The movement did receive opposition from some quarters, notably from Lord Carlisle, who objected that it would merely compromise pub managers in “the general trade of the house” and stifle the attempts to remain competitive with other local public houses. He also noted that it would be very difficult to secure an agent “who would carry out the good intentions of the company”.

By 1910, The Hampshire Trust had taken on nine other establishments, but the sharp increase in Licence duties, and duties on alcohol, placed too much of a burden on the organisation. It proceeded gradually to dispose of its inns and place them back on the open market. By 1913 the Trust had been liquidated. Throughout this period until 1920, the Peat Spade was managed by George Mason. His successor was Tom Cox and then in 1931, Ernest Popps. By this time the pub had been purchased by the Courage Co. It passed to the Millers group in 2005 who have maintained and preserved it in all its glory.