One afternoon, Mrs GH and I popped into a New Forest pub, which was frequented, around the turn of the 20th century, by one of the New Forest’s most legendary characters…
Harry ‘Brusher’ Mills…proper hermit..
The Snakecatcher in the New Forest village of Brockenhurst was the haunt of Harry ‘Brusher’ Mills, a famous hermit of the New Forest who lived in a rough hut and was known for catching snakes and selling them for zoological research. His nickname arose from the fact that he had another regular job brushing the local cricket pitch to prepare it for matches.
I won’t relate the whole fascinating story but he ended up living in the pub’s outbuildings and died there in 1905. The Wiki information is here.
The Snakecatcher of Brockenhurst
This pub dates back to the 1800s (possibly earlier) and in fact when it was patronised by its famous hermit customer, it was originally The Railway Inn.
Inside it is set out mainly for dining with a couple of soft chairs by the fireplace which is near the front of the pub. The single space wraps around the bar and extends rear wards on both sides.
Deserted dining area…
There are a lot of photos of Brusher on the walls and various story boards, newspaper extracts etc..
Brusher’s storyboard…
Though the historic customer may have been unusual, the present day real ale wasn’t…
Ringwood…a legend in New Forest pubs…
…all Ringwood Brewery, the Snakecatcher Bitter house beer being a renamed Ringwood Best, joined by Forty Niner and Boondoggle on the hand pump round the other side of the bar.
I tried the Snakecatcher Bitter which I thought, being the best bitter, would be reliable. It was drinkable, but a little tired (average).
The pub was fairly empty – probably not that surprising as it was late afternoon, and there was just one large party of people finishing a meal. A few other people wandered in while we were there.
Though distinguished by its unique association with Brusher Mills, the format of this pub is otherwise not that different from many others in the Forest area, catering mainly for diners. It has a slightly upmarket pub menu and prices to match.
More local history…as you can see the Brusher Mills story varies slightly…perhaps the pub preferred not to have him dying in their outhouse…
I can’t help thinking that The Railway Inn would have been a much more interesting place at the end of the 19th century, full of local Forest characters including the Snakecatcher himself…