Motor racing pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels etc (merged)

Le Nouveau Monde

82, rue Jean Lagarigue (4,908.07 mi)
Grand-Couronne 76530

With Le Mans coming up this place is well worth a visit - full of Rouen memorabilia (the old circuit is not far away) - and a pleasant lunch.

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 02 March 2022 - 04:06.

Another fascinating thread..........much better than filing my VAT Return and getting my accounts up to date..........I recall this place in Florida, perhaps outside the scope, I will let you guys be the judge

Head south along South Atlantic Avenue from Daytona Beach Shores and you will find this establishment.....

http://www.racingsno...urn.com/site/ - now on the site of the original beach races that grew into NASCAR - beer's cold, food is honest American, we have all done much worse. This is back in the day before the Tri-Oval was built.

Looking at Stuart's original post

However, that move plonked us quite close to the Magpie in Sunbury, and another pub in Shepperton which I can never seem to remember the name of! Both were very much racing watering holes, with the Brabham and WSR guys frequenting the latter...

Back in the early '80s the Guv'nor of the Magpie used to be a personal sponsor of Dave Coyne............not sure about the pub these days.

The place in Shepperton referred to was the Kings Head in the Church Square..........the family that ran it at the time had amongst their number an ex-Indy mechanic. The local team was WSR up in Charlton Village, so Dickie, Harvey, Alex, Jon-Jon and co. would drown their sorrows or celebrate their successes. Herbie Blash lived within walking distance and attracted many Brabham folk and sometimes David Yorke would pop down. Naturally, such a happy state of affairs could not be allowed to continue, and a new landlord took over and killed the racing vibe almost immediately, he probably made more money and was still going strong when I last heard a few years back.

Oh well back to the speadsheets................

Edited by SamoanAttorney, 24 October 2022 - 06:00.

Old time campsite in Pau (trees were blown down in the tornade of 1987).

PYRÉNÉA-SPORTS - PAU

Base de Plein Air du Coy

Camping Caravaning **

64320 BIZANOS - Tél. (59) 27.71.38

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 23 July 2022 - 06:25.

This thread is a little irrelevant currently. Is there a country that has bars or pubs  open?

Very sad for all in those industries as well as the customers as well.

While never much of a pub drinker   not being able going out to a pub  or cafe for lunch or tea makes life very boring.

There is hope. I believe that Czech Republic is to reopen beer gardens from Monday. A sore point as I was due to travel there on 16th. Relatives in New Zealand tell me they expect pubs to reopen in a couple of weeks. Those countries that have dealt with the virus in a competent manner will reopen in near future. Of little comfort to those of us in UK where examining the entrails of chickens is likely to have led to a more effective response.    

This thread is a little irrelevant currently. Is there a country that has bars or pubs  open?

Very sad for all in those industries as well as the customers as well.

While never much of a pub drinker   not being able going out to a pub  or cafe for lunch or tea makes life very boring.

Au contraire, we need this thread more than ever to remind us of good times in the past.

Back in the eighties the bar to see and be seen in Macau, at Grand Prix time, was the the Guia Bar at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, close to the startline.

Henri's Galley, in the Avenida da Republica, was a good lunch spot.

Hotel Bela Vista, 8 RUA DO COMMENDADOR KOU HO MENG, Macau. Throwback colonial hotel with glacial service. Dinner on the balcony. Now the Portuguese Consulate.
I recall partying at the Lisboa Hotel & Casino, where Teddy Yip used to hold court. Later there were evening gigs outdoors on Taipa Island.
Club Militar, 975 Avenida da Praia Grande, excellent wine buffet.

As development exploded in the Portuguese enclave racing folk spread out to the new hotels and the social side lost focus.

For a while Oskars Bar at the Holiday Inn held sway for journos, team managers, hangers-on, barflies etc.

There was the splendid Pizzeria Toscana in the paddock at the races, later turfed as the organisers got greedy.
Old address: Edificio de Apoio do Grande Prémio de Macau, 1^o Andar — Avenida da Amizada em Frente do Novo Maritimo, Macau.

RGDS RLT 

Edited by Rupertlt1, 02 March 2022 - 04:23.

Leslie Marr is mentioned way back in this thread - here is a little story by him of his time at Pulverbatch.

http://www.pulverbat...atch Summer.pdf

and back in New Zealand in the early part of 1961.

https://www.piano-no...arr/works/2182/

Edited by Patrick Fletcher, 19 July 2020 - 12:20.

These photos relating to Leslie Marr and his Connaught in NZ are posted on behalf of Patrick.

Stephen

I recently came across a copy of the book Sussex Pubs by Rodney L. Walkerley, published by B.T. Batsford, 1966.

This could only be by the well known writer on motoring and motor racing topics.

There are few clues in the book about this, except in a section on the Richmonds Arms, at Goodwood, Walkerly states: "About a mile from the hotel is the Goodwood motor circuit, also owned by the Duke [of Richmond and Gordon], who is a motor racing enthusiast, a sport the Duke has abandoned and the hotel owner has not."

It has to be said the book has not aged well with the author envisaging all pubs being reached by motor car, although some entries list bus routes. It is also a homage to keg beer from the pre-CAMRA era. Highlights are Watney's Red Barrel, Whitbread Tankard and Worthington E.  The tide of negative publicity caused by the later CAMRA Grotney's campaign forced the end of the Watney's brand. The publication of the book The Death of the English Pub by Christopher Hutt in 1973 added fuel to the fire. I recall that a plastic Watney's Red Barrel sign survived in the garden of The Ram at Firle long after the beer went out of production.

The section on The Castle Inn at Bodiam makes no mention of the hill climb. There was a connection: "A free house owned by the Arthur Guinnness company is, so far as I know, unique." The cars raced through the Guinness hop garden.

RGDS RLT

It is also a homage to keg beer from the pre-CAMRA era. Highlights are Watney's Red Barrel, Whitbread Tankard and Worthington E. The tide of negative publicity caused by the later CAMRA Grotney's campaign forced the end of the Watney's brand.

Highlights are Watney's Red Barrel, Whitbread Tankard and Worthington E.

RGDS RLT

... precisely the choice available in the Union bar of Imperial College in 1965.

EDIT: 2/- a pint

Edited by Geoff E, 08 April 2021 - 16:49.

I passed the old Watney's site - I hesitate to use the word "brewery" - in Mortlake last weekend.  Looks like it is being slowly removed to make way for yet more flats and apartments.

... precisely the choice available in the Union bar of Imperial College in 1965.

EDIT: 2/- a pint

Reading those dreadful, dreadful names again still sends shudders down my spine. ‘Keg beer’ was truly disgusting stuff, and in my grumpy old age one of the few things that still brings me real pleasure is a nice pint of real ale. Thank you CAMRA et al.

 I endured that fizzy filth too - but despite being spoiled for choice now I cannot touch a drop , or I  will be en route to the hospital . I developed a severe  allergy to stronger lager in the late 70s, but bitter was ok . By 1990 , I was allergic to that too, but took solace in Guinness . You guessed - by 2000 I couldn't drink stout without a severe reaction either.  My surviving pleasure is catching a whiff of  the lovely smell of decent beer. 

So I take solace in and thank God for white, red and sparkling wine ... 

 I endured that fizzy filth too - but despite being spoiled for choice now I cannot touch a drop , or I  will be en route to the hospital . I developed a severe  allergy to stronger lager in the late 70s, but bitter was ok . By 1990 , I was allergic to that too, but took solace in Guinness . You guessed - by 2000 I couldn't drink stout without a severe reaction either.  My surviving pleasure is catching a whiff of  the lovely smell of decent beer. 

 

So I take solace in and thank God for white, red and sparkling wine ... 

All in the same glass?    I know, I'll get me coat......

CAMRA, I'm a lifer, used to call places that made beer like those above, "beer factories" rather than 'breweries'. Very accurate I've always thought. 

I passed the old Watney's site - I hesitate to use the word "brewery" - in Mortlake last weekend.  Looks like it is being slowly removed to make way for yet more flats and apartments.

I spent my earliest years just a stone's throw from the Mortlake brewery.  And my formative drinking years were mostly in a Watney's pub.  But even then, I recognised the Red Barrel was p!ss water.  I remember they replaced the red plastic barrel on the bar-tap with a red plastic keg, which was a bit of a giveaway.  I think that was about the time that Red Barrel was reported to be so weak that it could be sold as a soft drink!

I soon learnt better, thanks to those stalwarts of CAMRA, the unsung heroes of modern Britain.

...but bitter was ok . By 1990 , I was allergic to that too...

One of the saddest tales I have read here.  You have my sympathies.

Le Nouveau Monde

82, rue Jean Lagarigue (4,908.07 mi)
Grand-Couronne 76530

 

With Le Mans coming up this place is well worth a visit - full of Rouen memorabilia (the old circuit is not far away) - and a pleasant lunch.

 

RGDS RLT

I was there once more on the Friday before Le Mans. An old haunt packed with Rouen racing memorabilia. Arrived circa 12:30; none-too-soon (they closed at 14:00). Friendly reception from Madame, not busy, no Brits, table opposite bar. Off menu omelette provided. Pierre Gasly a recent visitor, arranged by Jacques Ickx.

Incidentally we later called in at Gacé on the way south (supermarket shopping, stop for diesel) where there was not a classic car in sight. This used to be busy with an impromptu car show in the town square, bustling cafés, restaurants, hotels, campsite etc. All gone as cars bypass the town on the autoroute.

The traffic headed south from the Channel Tunnel was nothing like normal. The shopping centres at either end of Le Shuttle were deserted.

News of the campsite at Roëzé-sur-Sarthe (where lurks the ghost of Steve McQueen). The newly-refurbished campsite by the river has been closed for ten years (I stayed there in the 1980s). Due to reopen on 1 July 2022, we talked our way onto the site and thus we became the first customers of the new era. Pleasant breakfast at La Parenthèse Bar, a short walk across the bridge.

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 24 June 2022 - 06:16.

Looking at Stuart's original post

 

However, that move plonked us quite close to the Magpie in Sunbury, and another pub in Shepperton which I can never seem to remember the name of! Both were very much racing watering holes, with the Brabham and WSR guys frequenting the latter...

 

Back in the early '80s the Guv'nor of the Magpie used to be a personal sponsor of Dave Coyne............not sure about the pub these days.

 

The place in Shepperton referred to was the Kings Head in the Church Square..........the family that ran it at the time had amongst their number an ex-Indy mechanic. The local team was WSR up in Charlton Village, so Dickie, Harvey, Alex, JonJon and co. would drown their sorrows or celebrate their successes. Herbie Blash lived within walking distance and attracted many Brabham folk and sometimes David Yorke would pop down. Naturally such a happy state of affairs could not be allowed to continue and a new landlord took over and killed the racing vibe almost immediately, he probably made more money and was still going strong when I last heard a few years back.

 An old friend and I have been gradually visiting all the pubs close to our stretch of the Thames for lunch.  We took in the Magpie in Sunbury and I can confirm there didn't seem to be any hint of any motor racing connection, even though West Surrey Racing are just down the road these days.

As for the King's Head in Church Square, Shepperton - when we rocked up, having seen an nice menu on their website, we were greeted by an deserted pub.  No-one behind the bar.  Then an odd old bloke with two little dogs on leads appeared and asked us slightly belligerently what we wanted?   We said we had come for lunch and he said they didn't do food and we should go to the Red Lion instead.  All most odd.  Definitely no sign of any motor sporting links there that I saw in the brief period before we effectively got the bum's rush.. 

 Of course, Church Square Autos, who used to do BMW conversions etc have gone, and now have a yard tucked away off Shepperton High Street and seem to be MG specialists these days.  WSR moved to a small trading estate nearer to Lower Sunbury.  If any motor racing personages live locally, they go elsewhere, i reckon.  The Anchor Hotel, the other pub in Church Square seems to have not survived Covid and is closed.

 An old friend and I have been gradually visiting all the pubs close to our stretch of the Thames for lunch.  We took in the Magpie in Sunbury and I can confirm there didn't seem to be any hint of any motor racing connection, even though West Surrey Racing are just down the road these days.

 

As for the King's Head in Church Square, Shepperton - when we rocked up, having seen an nice menu on their website, we were greeted by an deserted pub.  No-one behind the bar.  Then an odd old bloke with two little dogs on leads appeared and asked us slightly belligerently what we wanted?   We said we had come for lunch and he said they didn't do food and we should go to the Red Lion instead.  All most odd.  Definitely no sign of any motor sporting links there that I saw in the brief period before we effectively got the bum's rush.. 

 

 Of course, Church Square Autos, who used to do BMW conversions etc have gone, and now have a yard tucked away off Shepperton High Street and seem to be MG specialists these days.  WSR moved to a small trading estate nearer to Lower Sunbury.  If any motor racing personages live locally, they go elsewhere, i reckon.  The Anchor Hotel, the other pub in Church Square seems to have not survived Covid and is closed.

 Shepperton Square's last heyday in a motorsport sense was around forty years ago; '83 saw Piquet and Senna winning championships for Brabham and WSR. The elements who were central to these victories moved on and soon there was a new landlord at the King's Head.

 Mind you, there were locals back then who frequently recalled that 20 years earlier a huge media fuss centred on the Square and its hotels and bars. Taylor and Burton, who were filming Cleopatra down at Shepperton Studios, were just getting 'acquainted'. In parallel Mandy Rice-Davies and Christine Keeler were apparently also frequent patrons and I understand that the latter married a chap who drank in the Square....others of note that I recall who were seen in the King's included H.R. Giger and Viv Stanshall, both of whom were weird, to say the least. Less worthy of note but bringing the thread back to motorsport was another regular, Dominic Chappell. Let's leave it there....

Early this year I visited, for the first time, The Bird in Hand at Wreningham (close to Snetterton and Hethel) and a group of us had lunch in their 'Colin Chapman Room'.

That room and the large bar lounge area is full of Lotus images, models and assorted memorabilia. It's a comfy and interesting place to idle away a few hours over 'refreshments'.

(I'm not clear on whether there is any association between the pub and CTL and/or the Chapman family, or whether the owner or landlord is simply an enthusiast.)

The last time I visited, which was a couple of years ago admittedly, The George Hotel at Ilminster (in the old market square), Somerset, had an interesting array of older photographs.

Apologies if this has been mentioned here previously !

Quite a while back, I was touring in the Alps and spent a night in Gap.  I happened, entirely by chance, to take a room in a small place in the city centre.  The reception and bar area was bedecked with many photographs of rally stars, because Gap used to be, in days of yore, the place where the Monte Carlo Rally assembled having arrived from its many starting points around Europe.  Evidently, this hotel and bar was a favoured stop for crews and the patron had collected signed photos from them.   On the wall were Vatanen, Ragnotti, Darniche, Waldegaard, Salonen, Alen, Munari and very many more. 

I returned to Gap a few years ago, but to my chagrin, I could not identify the place again for certain.  The perfidious French had re-arranged the roads to allow improved circulation and I could no longer be sure at which establishment I had stayed - coupled with it being day of the week when apparently everything, including hotels and restaurants, were closed.  But I suspect it is now  a shop selling homewares.  Hopefully the former owner took all his photos with him when he left  - or they are still proudly on display and I have simply got the wrong place!.

George Phillips, well known photo-

grapher for Autosport, has retired from

the circuits, to take over a pub—The

George IV at Great Amwell, Ware,

Herts.

Motor Racing, December 1967, Page 538

RGDS RLT

George Phillips, well known photo-

grapher for Autosport, has retired from

the circuits, to take over a pub—The

George IV at Great Amwell, Ware,

Herts.

Motor Racing, December 1967, Page 538

 

RGDS RLT

More pub connections

George Phillips, the photographer, raced at Le Mans in 1949. His co-driver was Curly Dryden: "He was ‘mine host’ at the George Hotel in Dorchester, a village quite close to Abindgon, the home of M.G.s."

In 1950 he teamed up with "yet another inn-keeper, Eric Winterbottom." (The Albert Hotel on Kingston Hill.)

His collection of 51,788 images is at Revs.

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 26 July 2022 - 19:35.

The Raymond Mays – J D Wetherspoon
44-48 North Street
Bourne

Opened 7th June 2022
"The motor-racing legend Raymond Mays lived in Bourne all of his life. Through hill climbs and speed trials, his successful racing-driver career began in 1931. He was particularly associated with a pair of Bugattis (Type 13 Brescia), known as Cordon Bleu (after the brandy of that name) and Cordon Rouge (after GH Mumm Champagne). Mays was later the driving force behind English Racing Automobiles (ERA) and then British Racing Motors (BRM). In 1962, Graham Hill won the world championship in a BRM, one of 17 Grand Prix won by the team."

The Raymond Mays – J D Wetherspoon
44-48 North Street
Bourne

Opened 7th June 2022
"The motor-racing legend Raymond Mays lived in Bourne all of his life. Through hill climbs and speed trials, his successful racing-driver career began in 1931. He was particularly associated with a pair of Bugattis (Type 13 Brescia), known as Cordon Bleu (after the brandy of that name) and Cordon Rouge (after GH Mumm Champagne). Mays was later the driving force behind English Racing Automobiles (ERA) and then British Racing Motors (BRM). In 1962, Graham Hill won the world championship in a BRM, one of 17 Grand Prix won by the team."

Didn't know about this, will have to pay a visit!

I was there once more on the Friday before Le Mans. An old haunt packed with Rouen racing memorabilia. Arrived circa 12:30; none-too-soon (they closed at 14:00). Friendly reception from Madame, not busy, no Brits, table opposite bar. Off menu omelette provided. Pierre Gasly a recent visitor, arranged by Jacques Ickx.

Incidentally we later called in at Gacé on the way south (supermarket shopping, stop for diesel) where there was not a classic car in sight. This used to be busy with an impromptu car show in the town square, bustling cafés, restaurants, hotels, campsite etc. All gone as cars bypass the town on the autoroute.

The traffic headed south from the Channel Tunnel was nothing like normal. The shopping centres at either end of Le Shuttle were deserted.

News of the campsite at Roëzé-sur-Sarthe (where lurks the ghost of Steve McQueen). The newly-refurbished campsite by the river has been closed for ten years (I stayed there in the 1980s). Due to reopen on 1 July 2022, we talked our way onto the site and thus we became the first customers of the new era. Pleasant breakfast at La Parenthèse Bar, a short walk across the bridge.

 

RGDS RLT

A rather peculiar post…..

It escapes me why anybody would possibly be interested in this kind of detail.

Chacun a son gout, I suppose….

Elsewhere - useful information on George Phillips’ pub, and those of his associates.

Many thanks.

I was there once more on the Friday before Le Mans. An old haunt packed with Rouen racing memorabilia. Arrived circa 12:30; none-too-soon (they closed at 14:00). Friendly reception from Madame, not busy, no Brits, table opposite bar. Off menu omelette provided. Pierre Gasly a recent visitor, arranged by Jacques Ickx.

Incidentally we later called in at Gacé on the way south (supermarket shopping, stop for diesel) where there was not a classic car in sight. This used to be busy with an impromptu car show in the town square, bustling cafés, restaurants, hotels, campsite etc. All gone as cars bypass the town on the autoroute.

The traffic headed south from the Channel Tunnel was nothing like normal. The shopping centres at either end of Le Shuttle were deserted.

News of the campsite at Roëzé-sur-Sarthe (where lurks the ghost of Steve McQueen). The newly-refurbished campsite by the river has been closed for ten years (I stayed there in the 1980s). Due to reopen on 1 July 2022, we talked our way onto the site and thus we became the first customers of the new era. Pleasant breakfast at La Parenthèse Bar, a short walk across the bridge.

 

RGDS RLT

Just spotted this.  Gacé used to be a lovely little town, where the Hotel de Ville had Le Mans and other racing memorabilia on the walls and a seriously good menu.  I ate there a number of times once upon a time.

A rather peculiar post…..

It escapes me why anybody would possibly be interested in this kind of detail.

I was.
 

Maybe old news for many already, but the famous "Union Jacks" at Speedway, IN will be closed, if ít is not already closed.

I wonder how many people posting over here have been there at least once in their time.

Legendary place.....

Just going back to Post 1, 4 pages ago ... where exactly was The Coal Hole? Midhurst? I still remember that line from Hawthorn's Champion Year setting out his route home. I gave the book away some years ago, but there you go.

The Coal Hole was a cellar bar in The Spread Eagle Hotel, Midhurst. I recently checked on its existence, still there but sadly converted into offices.

Among the famous guests at the Spread Eagle:

"In July 1939, Hitler’s Ambassador to England, Joachim Von Ribbentrop dined at The Spread Eagle with Hermann Göring and four other officers after attending the Goodwood Races. Before coming to The Spread Eagle, Göring had been visiting Leonardslee near Horsham, then the home of Lady Loder, and it is believed that he had selected this beautiful property to be his H.Q. after the invasion of England."

(This story needs standing up.)

The Bricklayer’s Arms, Midhurst, is a short distance away.

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 24 October 2022 - 06:48.

 An old friend and I have been gradually visiting all the pubs close to our stretch of the Thames for lunch.  We took in the Magpie in Sunbury and I can confirm there didn't seem to be any hint of any motor racing connection, even though West Surrey Racing are just down the road these days.

 

As for the King's Head in Church Square, Shepperton - when we rocked up, having seen an nice menu on their website, we were greeted by an deserted pub.  No-one behind the bar.  Then an odd old bloke with two little dogs on leads appeared and asked us slightly belligerently what we wanted?   We said we had come for lunch and he said they didn't do food and we should go to the Red Lion instead.  All most odd.  Definitely no sign of any motor sporting links there that I saw in the brief period before we effectively got the bum's rush.. 

 

 Of course, Church Square Autos, who used to do BMW conversions etc have gone, and now have a yard tucked away off Shepperton High Street and seem to be MG specialists these days.  WSR moved to a small trading estate nearer to Lower Sunbury.  If any motor racing personages live locally, they go elsewhere, i reckon.  The Anchor Hotel, the other pub in Church Square seems to have not survived Covid and is closed.

Social media brings the sad news that the King's Head in Shepperton will close for good on Sunday, not a surprise in view of the above post. According to one of the locals, the site had been an inn since the 15th century. I will be raising a glass. By brooks too broad for leaping.....

Church Square must be bluddy deserted these days....

Oddly, no.  It is always impossible to park there.  I think quite a few local homes don't have any off-street parking.  And the Warren Lodge hotel is still going strong.

Goodness. I lived in Shepperton for over 20 years having moved away just two years ago. I frequented all the hostels mentioned above and never remember ANY reference to motor sport in any of them. I'm very sad to hear that the King's Head is closing.. Church Square must be bluddy deserted these days....

Gary

the glory days of motorsport at the King's Head were the mid-70s to the mid-80s, some 40 years ago...Herbie Blash, Dick Bennetts, Harvey Spencer were all regulars, plus the guests at The Shepperton Sheraton....and I am sure I have forgotten a few names....but we all moved on, some even grew up....

I had a chance recently to peruse once more Sussex Pubs by Rodney L. Walkerley, published by B.T. Batsford, 1966, Page 106.

(See post #259)

Walkerley provides an extensive review of the Spread Eagle at Midhurst, Sussex, not so very long after Mike Hawthorn is known to have frequented the place:

"There is a lounge bar on the ground floor and for men of beer, who

prefer it drawn from the wood, there is the Coal Hole underneath, reached

downstairs from the hotel or through a veritable hole-in-the-wall from the

pavement outside. There is drinking on the terrace of the gardens that slope

down to the water."

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 22 February 2023 - 13:48.

 

Walkerley provides an extensive review of the Spread Eagle at Midhurst, Sussex, not so very long after Mike Hawthorn is known to have frequented the place:

"There is a lounge bar on the ground floor and for men of beer, who

prefer it drawn from the wood, there is the Coal Hole underneath, reached

downstairs from the hotel or through a veritable hole-in-the-wall from the

pavement outside. 

 

RGDS RLT

The Spread Eagle no longer serves Real Ale either from the wood (cask these days) or handpump. On the plus side they are dog friendly. 

It'll take photographic evidence or contemporary newspaper reports to convince me that Goering was at Midhurst or Goodwood in July 1939. Or a landing card showing Reason For Visit "Invasion Planning".  

The Spread Eagle no longer serves Real Ale either from the wood (cask these days) or handpump. On the plus side they are dog friendly. 

 

It'll take photographic evidence or contemporary newspaper reports to convince me that Goering was at Midhurst or Goodwood in July 1939. Or a landing card showing Reason For Visit "Invasion Planning".  

The story is spread by the hotel, but does not stand up to scrutiny. There is a lot online about what may or may not be true.

Here is an extract from the hotel brochure:

Alongside famous visitors there are also the infamous - and perhaps the most infamous of all were

Hermann Goering (Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe) and Joachim Von Ribbentrop (the Third Reich's

Ambassador to the UK). They dined at The Spread Eagle after a day at Glorious Goodwood in July 1939 -

just weeks before the outbreak of the Second World War. It seems that Sussex charmed its unwelcome

guests, with Goering selecting the Leonardslee Estate 25 miles east of the Spread Eagle as his proposed post-

invasion headquarters.

I can find no evidence to support this claim. An obvious error is Ribbentrop was German Foreign Minister in 1939.

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 22 February 2023 - 18:50.

Maybe old news for many already, but the famous "Union Jacks" at Speedway, IN will be closed, if ít is not already closed.

 

I wonder how many people posting over here have been there at least once in their time.

Legendary place.....

I hadn’t seen this news before. That’s very sad. I went to the Indy 500 in 1995 and enjoyed a few beers in a packed Union Jacks the night before the race. 

The Coal Hole was a cellar bar in The Spread Eagle Hotel, Midhurst. I recently checked on its existence, still there but sadly converted into offices.

Among the famous guests at the Spread Eagle:

"In July 1939, Hitler’s Ambassador to England, Joachim Von Ribbentrop dined at The Spread Eagle with Hermann Göring and four other officers after attending the Goodwood Races. Before coming to The Spread Eagle, Göring had been visiting Leonardslee near Horsham, then the home of Lady Loder, and it is believed that he had selected this beautiful property to be his H.Q. after the invasion of England."

(This story needs standing up.)

The Bricklayer’s Arms, Midhurst, is a short distance away.

 

RGDS RLT

Goering was already considered persona non grata in Britain by 1937, so the idea that he visited in 1939 is - as DCN would say - a complete load of umbala. And as you've pointed out, by 1939 von Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister, having been in that post since early 1938.

Although, unlike a certain World Champion, he apparently didn't avoid Croydon! Twice!

https://mechtravelle...-visit-croydon/

NB: The Sunday Times reference given there is incorrect, not least because February 14th 1972 was a Monday. According to the IWM website, this article actually appeared in the Sunday Times Magazine, i/d May 14th 1973! Frischauer had published a biography of Dicke Hermann over twenty years previously. Just entitled 'Goering' in the UK edition from Odhams (1950), the US title was 'The Rise and Fall of Hermann Goering' and published the following year by Houghton Mifflin. The US title was also used for both paperback editions published in 1960 by Ballantine and Four Square.

Sticking with the German theme, you can visit the Mercedes tower at Avus in Berlin, now a motel for transport drivers. I was there in 2017:

We take the S-Bahn to Westkreuz, changing onto the S41, one stop to Messe Nord/ICC, in search of the Avus Motel/racing circuit, which we find fairly quickly near the Messegelände. The motel and a grandstand survive (managed by Avus Tribune Gmbh). We take coffee/tea at the Avus Motel, Halenseestraße 51, in the delightful round tower: €5.80. There are photos of racing cars, including the Opel 2 Rocket Car, on the table tops.

RGDS RLT

"Maybe old news for many already, but the famous "Union Jacks" at Speedway, IN will be closed, if ít is not already closed."

Been in that place too many times to count and always had a great time, although I had my 4-month-old 1981 VW Scirocco GT stolen while I was once there. This photo is inside with fellow Autosport forum mates paul b, Victor,  Jp and B², taken on Friday "Carb Day" May 25, 2018.

Edited by B Squared, 25 February 2023 - 09:48.