The Hampshire Bowman began life as a coaching inn around 1700 - the inn was needed because we're adjacent to a steep hill and the horses needed somewhere close to rest between jobs.

By the late 1800s the coaching inn had become a pub. In 1880 the pub, then known as "The Cat and Fiddle", was rebuilt after a fire. It then spent 25 years as a private house, reopening as "The Jubilee" around the time of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee - you can still see part of our old name on the exterior wall.

In the 1970s the licensee's wife was a founder member of the archery club adjacent to the pub and we became The Hampshire Bowman. In 1987 The Bowman became a freehouse when Gales Brewery sold it to current owner Charles Scott. Our old website - archived here - has a more detailed history.

Today, the Bowman's landlady is Heather Seymour. We're proud of our annual beer festival and our charity day (in support of Macmillan). In addition to those big events we also host private events - weddings and other celebrations - for up to 200 people.