The Brushmakers Arms
Upham, Hampshire

Local Area

This is a great base for walking holidays for the Monarchs Way and the South Downs.  There are many routes for walking dogs, rambling and cycling, with breathtaking views of the Hampshire countryside and Winchester Hill.

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Click here for some local walking and cycling routes.

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Owners

Nicky and Reece run the pub and you can always be guaranteed a warm welcome and excellent food.  With many years' experience of running excellent pubs and producing fantastic food, this really is a place not to be missed.  We pride ourselves on the quality of food and drink we offer and feature on the Square Meal website, were Highly Commended as 2019 Regional Finalists by the Countryside Alliance and in 2023 we came second in the South East of England Rural Oscars, and we appear in the Good Pub Guide.  We are also a Hampshire Fare establishment, one of the best places in Hampshire committed to sourcing and serving local food and drink

 

Food

Booking is recommended, especially at weekends, as we get very busy! 

 

Pop in for one of our famous Black Pudding Scotch Eggs or evening meal with friends and family.

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We source local produce from local farms, food producers and grow herbs, vegetables and salad in our own garden.  All food that we serve has travelled no more than 10 miles to get here, and we always go organic and cook everything fresh every day. 

 

See our menu for more details on suppliers and the range of food we serve.

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Drink

Our real ales are delicious, sourced from local breweries and there's always a guest ale on offer.  We also stock a wide range of gins, whiskies, spirits, wines, fine wines and soft drinks. 

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Click here for more information on drinks, including the full wine list.

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History

This delightful village pub has undergone many a change of use in its 600-year history. At one time or another the Inn has been a factory, a school, doubled up as a dentist and a private house. The Inn is so called because way back in history, it catered for the needs of the travelling Brushmakers who used the vale of Upham as their base when they were not touring the countryside selling the brooms which they made from the hazel sticks from the green hedges of Hampshire.

 

One of the regular guests at the Inn was a Mr Chickett; he was famous for the good quality of his brushes and it was known that he made a good living. One night while he lay in his bed above the Inn Mr Chickett chucked it…losing his life and his money. The murdering thief was never found, but Mr Chickett’s ghost keeps on searching, either for the money or the thief, haunting the low-ceilinged room where he had slept his last sleep.

 

The village’s most famous resident was possibly the eighteenth-century poet and philosopher Edward young (1681-1765), born in the rectory, rector and author of ‘Night Thoughts’ illustrated by William Blake. I like to think he may have been in this very Inn when he penned “procrastination is the thief of time”.

    

During the English civil war, sometime after the battle of Cheriton (1644), Oliver Cromwell put up at this Inn, used it as his headquarters, thumbed his maps and laid his plans for the roundhead advance on Winchester (1645).

 

Not only to the seeker of haunted Inns, the Brushmakers Arms is a fascinating pub; it is a picturesque place with a slice of history all of its own.