| Pub History |
| Where We Are |
Photos of the spring, taken in Janaury 2012, are in the Gallery. Click here.
In the early 1900s the spring was much better kept, with boarded edges and a clean wide gravel bed where watercress flourished. Special trips were made to the spring to gather the watercress, used to make watercress sandwiches for tea at the non-conformist chapel in Sonning.Customers recall having great fun catching little 'water fleas' in the ice cold water. These, we understand, are better known as Freshwater Shrimps Gammarus Pulex.
The fields all around were once used for withy beds (osiers). This is reflected in some of the names on the Phillimore Estate field map. Willow whips were harvested and soaked in ponds which were a feature of several Sonning Eye gardens. The withies were then 'stripped' by passing through a steel 'Y' shape which removed the bark. Once dried and trimmed they were sent off by horse and cart to basket makers, many of which were in the Worcestershire area. The trade was linked to the cider orchards there, but was in decline until the First World War created a demand for baskets to hold shells. The end of the war meant the end of the industry.
The stream at the bottom of the Flowing Spring garden is Berry Brook. It originates in Caversham at the foot of the escarpment there, and is joined by 'Eye Marsh Drain' before running out by Shiplake College Boat Club. The Drain travels across land known as Big Common just outside the pub. This common land was eventually enclosed, and under the will of William Payne, the owners were required to pay a tax on it for grazing rights. The money was used to pay for apprentices' tools. The land passed to Mill Farm and when the mill was sold a payment continued to be made by many of the residents of Sonning Eye, right up until the early 1970s, when the charity was wound up. Until then the small sums collected were used to help the less well-off.
We believe the oldest part of our building dates back to the 1700s. It is unclear how long the Flowing Spring has been trading as a public house and what it was before. We have traced back pub records to 1869 when a Mrs T Russell was Licensee.
The first census document we have seen, from 1881, records Thomas King and his family (wife and four children) living here. His occupation was Innkeeper, aged 38. The census of 1891 shows John Rogers as Public House Keeper, living with his wife, Fanny and five children plus Thomas Wheeler who was a lodger and Lime Maker. On December 21st 1899 Hewett and Sons sold the premises to H & G Simmonds for £1298 including stamp duty.
In 1901, 10 people resided in this tiny building with Albert Maskell named as Licensed Victualler. Apart from his family there were 2 farm workers, a rod cutter and a domestic servant living in.
Ten years later the census shows William Wheeler as Inn Keeper, living with his wife Ellen Ann. William was born in Nettlebed. An old document we have found shows the pub's turnover as £237. The annual rent was just £13 (more figures are shown on the right).
In 1916 the pub was run by Walter John Brind and, in 1921 by William Edward Cotterill.
The Reading-based Simmonds brewery was later incorporated by Courage who eventually sold the premises to Fuller's in 1980. Fuller's still own the freehold.
We have been given a fantastic folder of photos and commentary by Janice Tomlin who was the landlady here, along with her landlord husband Derek from 1981 to 1985. She says:
"When we came here there was no mains water. We had an electric pump that pumped the spring water from under the pub. We had no gas or oil. We had a solid fuel stove in the cellar. There was no means of heating the kitchen and if we washed up after breakfast everything froze to the draining board in winter.
"When we ripped off the formica and boarding on the walls and knocked the previous tenant's private room into the bar we were lucky enough to find three working chimneys."
SOME INTERESTING TRADING FIGURES FROM THE FLOWING SPRING IN PAST YEARS
| Year | Turnover | Rent |
| 1905 | £197 | £10 |
| 1906 | £175 | £10 |
| 1907 | £196 | £10 |
| 1908 | £186 | £10 |
| 1909 | £197 | £10 |
| 1910 | £172 | £13 |
| 1911 | £237 | £13 |
| 1912 | £240 | £13 |
| 1913 | £285 | £13 |
| 1914 | unreadable | £13 |
| 1915 | £292 | £13 |
| 1916 | £211 | £13 |
| 1917 | £212 | £13 |
| 1918 | £320 | £13 |
| 1919 | £534 | £13 |
| 1920 | £516 | £13 |
| 1921 | £614 | £13 |
| 1922 | £483 | £13 |
| 1923 | £482 | £13 |
The figures come from a copy of a Freehold document which splits the 'Annual Trade' into 'Beer' (draught), 'Bottled Beer' and 'Spirits'. There was no food business nor soft drinks. Rent was paid quarterly.
Many people have told us how lucrative the pub trade once was. Looking at the ratio of rent to turnover, this is understandable. These days, of course, it's quite different!
If anyone is interested in seeing our collection of historic documents or photos, please pop in.
Many thanks to everyone who has helped us compile this information, including David Woodward, Chairman of Eye and Dunsden Parish Council, Lorraine Redding and Janice Tomlin. If you have any information about the pub's history we'd love to hear from you. Please call Nick on 0118 9699878 or email info@theflowingspringpub.co.uk.