Hanbury Arms

Angella

Exotic and historic - heritage and drink and dance 16th September 2009

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Amusing location. Mausoleum built for the affluent and cultured Sassoons - 'the Rothschilds of the East', as exotic burial place for founder of the British branch of the dynasty, Sir Albert (1818-1892). He was buried here and so was his son Sir Edward who died in 1912. But Albert's grandson Philip sold the place in the thirties, when they were reinterred in London (Willesden).

Now you can see the onion dome on the corner of the road near the hospital (which you spot at the end of the turning uphill from the seafront).

Inside it's bigger than it looks from the outside. A large round room with windows at the top of the dome. Now done up with a bar at the back, seating down the sides and an area for the band at the front near the entry door.

On the opposite wall is the stair to the cosy upstairs bar, originally the adjacent Hanbury pub.

This venue is now used for music events. I don't know how big the kitchen is, but you can hold a wedding reception here. (Anyway, in my experience caterers bring in their own pre-cooked food on vans and light up heated trays over tea lights.)

If Wetherspoons pubs took over they would have the place filled with the history of the building and the area and local characters.

But the people who run the place are friendly and cheerful. I met Daniel Watts Assistant Manager. They can tell you about the history. It is hoped that some of a grant allocated to local heritage will be used to enhance the venue and help make it more of a tourist attraction.

The drinks menu includes wines by the glass £4-£5.50, cocktails at £7 and £7.50 such as Singapore Sling, Florence Nightingale, sparkling wines by the glass such as Prosecco at £6, prosecco sergio rose at £6.50, from raboso grape, and more.
The drinks menu quotes Ernest Hemingway, 'An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.'

There's plenty to say about the Sassoons. (I used to talk about the Rothschilds and Sassoons on the radio and in my travel articles.) Sir Albert escaped from Bagdad, built the Sassoon docks in Bombay, which displays the name Sassoon in huge letters, funded a hospital where later Gandhi was treated, and a library, a museum, part of what is now the university, a horseback statue of the King of England and the Empire outside the museum.

Sassoon dysnasty Influence on the UK? Descendants and relatives included Sassoon, the first world war poet, the hairdressers, and they intermarried with lots of other famous people. Yes, it was a great thrill to see any building connected with Sir Albert - above all his burial place - such an exotic monument!