The Angel Inn is a public house in Andover, Hampshire, England. Constructed in the mid-15th century, it is one of England's oldest surviving inns, and the oldest and most complete example in Hampshire. It is a Grade II* listed building, of "more than special interest nationally." Despite alterations in the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the medieval timber frame, features and decorative details remain "remarkably intact." Archaeological and documentary evidence suggest that it was built on the site of a previous inn—the College Inn—which was destroyed in the Great Fire of Andover in 1434. Originally constructed of four wings enclosing a central courtyard, with an archway giving access from the street—typical of late medieval inns—the pub now retains the north and east wings. The west wing is no longer extant, while the surviving section of the south wing—which was divided from the inn for other commercial uses in the 18th century—is now also Grade II* listed (under the designation "89, 91 & 93 High Street, Andover.") The main bar room is situated in the ground floor of the north wing, which housed stables during the medieval period. The 'front bar' occupies the ground floor room—originally a high status guest chamber—at the eastern end of the north wing, looking onto the High Street. During the early 19th century, the front bar also served as the town's magistrates' court and guildhall. In the 1960s, Andover became an overspill town for London, resulting in redevelopment of the town centre and the construction of a large shopping centre. The Angel Inn—along with other late medieval parts of the town—was initially earmarked for demolition in 1965 as part of the redevelopment, but was saved following a campaign by members of the public. The Angel Inn is Cask Marque accredited and listed by CAMRA—the Campaign for Real Ale—as one of the best cask ale pubs in the UK.
History
Earliest inns in Andover Built between 1444–1455, The Angel Inn is the oldest surviving inn—and the oldest surviving building—in Andover. Local tradition claims that the site has housed an inn or tavern since at least 1174, and that a part of the fabric of the current building dates from this time. Although there is no documentary evidence for a 12th-century inn, stone "robbed" from the nearby 12th century priory has been found re-used in a Tudor dwelling on the High Street. H.W. Earney, in his Inns of Andover (1971), notes: "Saxon Andover consisted of two main thoroughfares—the Harrow Way to London, and the road from Southampton to Newbury. These two roads once crossed in front of the Angel Inn, so that it is likely, when the first Andover inn was built, that this was the most convenient spot for it to be sited." Edward Roberts also states that such a "prime urban site" would have been a likely location for medieval hostelries. Certainly, beer was being retailed in Andover by 1317, as an entry in the Guild Rolls for that year records a decree that beer should be sold in the town for the price of 1½ d. per barrel.
The College Inn Formerly an alien priory under the control of the Abbey of Saint-Florent de Saumur in Anjou, France—to whom it had been gifted by William I in 1087 and William II in 1100—Andover Priory and its possessions were appropriated by royal charter to St. Mary's College, Winchester (now known as Winchester College) on 10 December 1414. Andover was a well-established market town, central to the thriving local wool and cloth industry, and situated at the crossing of several important trade routes as well as the Harrow Way, a prehistoric trackway still in use during the medieval period as a pilgrims' route to London and Canterbury. In importance, it was surpassed in Hampshire only by Winchester and Southampton, and its status ranked equally with Basingstoke and Portsmouth. Renting out an inn—which in the late medieval period served not only as a hostel for travellers but also as an important local hub for trading products such as fish, beer, wine and cloth—at such a location would have been a profitable investment for the college. Thomas Kirby, the bursar of Winchester College and Hampshire secretary of the Society of Antiquaries, wrote in his Annals of Winchester College from its Foundation in 1382 to the Present Time (1892) that the site upon which The Angel Inn was built had previously been occupied by the College Inn, which was completely destroyed during the Great Fire of Andover in 1434. Although the College Inn belonged to St. Mary's College at Winchester, Kirby does not record whether it was built by the college post-1414 or was instead an even earlier inn obtained when the priory was appropriated. The college is known to have built at least one other inn, in 1418—also called The Angel—on the main market street of New Alresford, Hampshire. Archaeological surveys in the late-20th century exposed evidence of burning on the surface of the chalk situated beneath the south wing of the inn which may have been deposited by the destruction of the College Inn.
The Angel Inn
The fire of 1434 is believed to have started in a butcher's shop at White Bear Yard on the High Street in the upper part of the town. John Hare writes that the area destroyed included the High Street, the adjacent vicarage, property "on Soper's Lane", and probably extended beyond the upper town, causing "a serious impact on the town at large." The economic impact was such that in 1435 and 1437, Andover was exempted from the "fifteenth and tenth" annual taxation, and paid only half of the tax in 1439 and 1444, reductions which suggest "that there was a justifiable grievance and not just the common complaints of urban poverty." The loss of rent and tithes from its destroyed properties—and the opportunity to purchase now vacant land on which to build—led St. Mary's College to invest heavily in the redevelopment of the affected part of the town. On 4 March 1445, Robert Thurbern, the Warden of St. Mary's College, contracted two carpenters—John Hardyng and Richard Holnest—to build a timber-framed inn on the site:
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