Home > Surrey > Ockham > Hautboy Inn Hautboy Inn
Picture source: Russell Judge
The Hautboy Inn was situated on Ockham Lane. This pub closed in 2007.
This pub, a Grade II listed building, has now (after much local opposition I believe) had planning permission granted for it to be converted to 7 residential units.
Robert Bindless (February 2011)
This very fine building was built by William 1st Earl of Lovelace in 1864, Lord Lieutenant of Surrey and owner of Ockham Park. It replaced the old Hautboy and Fiddle Inn at Bridge End, Ockham, which the Earl had acquired in 1833 when the previous owner went bankrupt. Reputedly haunted.
Darkstar (August 2011)
According to the John Player “Cycling” cigarette card series of 1938, this pub made the news in 1898 when it refused admission to the coffee room of a lady cyclist wearing “rational attire”. This was challenged by the Cyclists’ Touring Club who challenged the hotel proprietor’s right to refuse admission to part of a licensed establishment.
Simon Bullivant (April 2013)
I worked at the Hautboy when it was a bikers’ pub (1984-86) there used to be 2 macaws flying around the ceiling and sitting on the light fittings, they were owned by the pub manager. The day it closed I was phoned by the owner to tell me they would not open that night - probably a good thing as it would have been gutted by everyone taking a souvenir. We all moved to the Mucky Duck (Black Swan) and then that pub became the meeting point for a number of years.
Liz Norris (July 2015)
I was there, playing guitar and spanish music from January-July 1974. At that time the pub was managed from the same group owning the Restaurant Ship Hispaniola in London (Victoria Embankment), the general manager was named Mr. Plata. After some months performing in this restaurant in London we moved to Ockham in order to promote the hautboy inn. We met a lot of people living in that area who used to come there for dinner. Particullary good days when Epsom took place. Besides the restaurant, it was a spanish bar and an english pub with a piano. One of the customers had been the pianist with the queen elisabeth ship going to america, and we used to play together, depending of how many pints of lager we drunk. Another famous night we were invited to Julie Andrews mother house were we also had fun and played together with mother of JA, who was a very good piano player. I would like to have my last word for the english barman in the pub, that you can see in one of the photographs ( i am sorry, i do not get his name right now) who used to announce the closing time of the pub saying something like this: "Ladies and gentlemen and members from the ockham criquet club; time is gone"....or "Ladies and gentlemen and scrap merchants....".
Pepe Todoli (April 2017)
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Other Photos
Date of photo: 1978	Picture source: David Harris
Still from 1961 film, Pit Of Darkness, starring William Franklyn	Picture source: David Green