White Horse Inn

Compton Bassett’s only public house was built in the early 1850s alongside a new section of village road which had recently had its course altered; the old road ran in front of No. 46, Yew Tree Cottage but then went behind No. 47, Lavender Cottage and the [Old] Post Office, eventually rejoining the current road near The [Old] Forge. John Seckstone became the first landlord of the White Horse having previously been a grocer in the village; following a stint of a handful of years there he returned to shopkeeping by 1859, moving to Cherhill. George and Emma Bush, born in the village and working on the estate as agricultural, then gardener’s labourers were then given the opportunity to manage the inn. They were joined around 1865 by George’s cousin William and his wife Charlotte. The business operated not only as an inn but as a bakery and grocery as well. William ‘Billy’ Bush lived at the inn while George moved out to Quemerford to concentrate on his farm work though he kept close ties to the pub. George held an annual dinner at the end of each year in the White Horse, playing host to all the villagers who had helped him during harvest time. This event carried on for nearly 40 years until its final year in 1901. Billy Bush remained at the inn until around 1905 and was replaced by Frank and Louisa Blackman. A deed of separation between the Blackmans in 1921 resulted in Louisa transferring the license to her name and staying on to manage the pub until 1925 when Harold Blackford arrived to take the helm.

CWS (The Co-op), who had bought the villages of Cherhill and Compton Bassett and the inn with it back in 1919, put the whole estate up for sale in 1928. The White Horse Inn and The Black Horse in Cherhill were both bought the following year by George’s Bristol brewery with Harold Blackford continuing until 1935, then handing over to Tom & Gladys Goring. A year later Goring had a telephone installed at the inn, something that very few people had at that time; the number was Calne 118, which reveals just how scarce they were. The Goring family maintained the business through the war years up into the mid-1950s.

In 1959 Howard Tovey had a £1,000 electronic theatre organ fitted at the pub. A local newspaper reported that when the F peddle was used it was powerful enough to shatter the window glass. Howard played requests for locals, popular ones being ‘Won’t you rock me Daddy-o’ and songs from My Fair Lady.

1963 saw the skittle alley created from an outbuilding, the work undertaken almost single-handed by landlord Ernie Dolman. It was to prove a great success and by the 1970s the pub was running two teams in the local league. When Ernie called time and retired in 1973, Jack & Doreen Butler took over. Just three years later Courage Western advertised the inn for sale, selling to Michael James, who moved in with his wife Heather. James twice applied to build three detached houses in the side field in 1977/8 but villagers rallied and a petition was signed by 90% of householders; it was turned down again.

Joseph & Lesley Adams managed the White Horse from 1990 and the following September, 77-year-old Jackie Mann turned up unexpectedly with his wife. He had flown in to RAF Lyneham after being held hostage for two and a half years in Beirut and headed straight to The White Horse to enjoy a long overdue pint. Barmaid Enid Taylor said, “He looked delighted when he took his first sip of 6X”.

LAURIE WAITE