Gosport Museum | HCT

The museum at Gosport Museum and Art Gallery was created by the community for the community.

Over a number of months during the refurbishment of the Old Grammar School in 2022, members of community groups from across Gosport came together in specially facilitated sessions to choose objects and stories to feature in the museum. The museum is now a place where the community can enjoy remembering our shared past and learn something new.

In the centre of the museum is a tower display, each wall representing a part of the collection: sail and boat making tools, bottles and jars, including many from Mumby's, a wall of posters, the oldest dating back to 1801, and two shelves of objects illustrating Gosport’s diverse heritage.

The stories featured in and around the central display were all developed by individuals or groups from Gosport’s community. These people selected objects from the collections cared for by Hampshire Cultural Trust and decided what they wanted to say about them. The stories are in their own words.

Alongside a brief history of the town, there are a range of objects on display, including a 1939 Osborn Engineering Company (OEC) motorcycle. Themes covered by the community stories include leisure and entertainment, Gosport’s contribution to national events, transport, the caring community, the changing High Street and sport.

There are objects available for visitors to handle, as well as short films using images from our vast photographic collection, with a sound booth where you can listen to the soundscape of Gosport. Objects from both our main and handling collections are also displayed around the building, including in the café.

We are very grateful to our community partners for the time and energy they have put into researching and sharing these stories of Gosport. We will be updating them every year: if you or your group would like to be part of a future community research project, please do contact us.

To take a virtual tour of Gosport Museum, just select the button below!

Virtual tour of Gosport Museum

A tour of the objects in Gosport Museum's central tower

Rear shelves behind sail making tools

Rear shelves behind sail making tools
Plinth
GOS1989.114.1	Fergusons Record Player	1950/60 portable record player. Fergusons electronics factory on the Fareham Road was once the largest civilian employer in Gosport. Its factory opened in 1955, finally closing after numerous take overs of the parent company in 1992. Gosport’s factory was better known for making Television sets rather than the Record Players, so it is unlikely this example was made in the town, but it is evocative of both the Ferguson name and the post war period.
Shelf 1
GOS1974.168	Gramophone	Ground-breaking in its day, the Gramophone played music stored on to discs replacing the cylindrical barrels of the first music players, the phonographs. The man credited with inventing this new design in the late 19th century was German born Emile Berliner. The story of this example is not known but seems to have been an early donation to the original Gosport Museum in the 1970s.
Shelf 2
GOS1989.172.2	scales	Salter scales. Possibly the most famous name in weighing scales, the Salter company was established in 1760. The exact date of this set of scales is unknown, but it matches similar items being advertised by the company in the 1930s. Along with the pressure cooker and copper jug it represents just some of the many domestic objects in the collection donated by Gosport’s residents over the years.
GOS1978.114	Jug	Copper hot water jug. The donor back in 1978 said that it was used to carry hot water up to the bedroom for shaving. Many of the terrace houses in Gosport were originally built without a bathroom – just an outside toilet. Washing would have been done in basins in the bedroom and bathing in a tin bath in front of the fire once a week.
GOS1986.163.1	pressure cooker	large pressure cooker donated along with several other “domestic items” in 1986. The manufacturer is Easiwork of London and it probably dates to the middle of the 20th century. The design didn’t change much until the 1970s when new design features made them much safer.
Front Shelves
Plinth
GOS1985.104.1	Scales	Scales from Withers Butchers: Part of a collection of items from W.A. Withers and Sons Ltd, a local butcher who had premises in both Stoke Road and Bemisters Lane.
GOS1975.147	Typewriter	Salter Typewriter No7. Made by the same family as the scales, Salter Typewriters were the first to be manufactured in England, The Salter 7 was introduced in 1907. We have very little information about this object other than it was donated by a local person in 1975.
GOS1987.129	Sewing machine	Singer hand sewing machine. Possibly a New Family Model c.1881 with a “fiddle” base. Sailor’s wives, often left for months and sometimes years with no income whilst their husbands were away, could earn income from “piece work” for local clothing manufacturers.
Shelf 1
GOS1989.158	Pulley Block	Double pulley block said to be from the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert. Impossible to verify, but this is the description that came with it at the time of donation. The last royal yacht to bear this name, she was commissioned at Portsmouth 23 July 1901. She took part in three Fleet Reviews, including the one in 1937. Decommissioned in 1939 she was broken up in 1954, so parts may well have been disposed of locally.
GOS1989.49.1	Harpoon ship log	Late 19th early 20th century ship log. Part of a collection of yachting related objects donated back in 1989 and representative of Gosport’s place in the world of leisure sailing. This mechanical log recorded the speed and distance the vessel sailed through the water by recording the number of times the log rotated and the revolutions registered on the dials. The log was towed astern of the vessel and hauled in for readings.
GOS1989.49.4	Yacht Compass	Yacht compass – a dry card compass typical of the type designed for use on boats and ships. This example is marked Carey, London who were a well-known maker of nautical instruments, but the date of this example is unknown.
GOS1989.49.1	Ships Lantern	Ships lantern, the plates on the front read: Daveys Patent Approved Safety Lantern No. 16049. The company was established in London in 1885 and are still manufacturing maritime equipment to this day. The second plate says: Summer and Payne Southampton. This company was established in the Northam district of the City in 1815 and were prolific builders of both sailing and steam yachts.
Shelf 2
GOS1975.465	Clock	Clock by W J Hug of Gosport. Family jewellery/watch company founded in Gosport in 1890 they still have a shop on Gosport High Street today. The family’s other claim to fame was Mike Hugg. Mike was born and grew up on Gosport and was one of the founder members of 1960s band Manfred Mann. He seems to have added an extra g to his name at some point – very 1960s! Manfred Mann were formed in the early 60s and named after their keyboard player. The original lead vocalist Paul Jones was from Portsmouth.
GOS1976.29	Magic Lantern	Magic lantern: Label found inside reads: George Leaf gave lectures on Old Gosport until the mid-forties illustrated by these lantern slides. He was a prominent member of the Gosport Brother hood.

Posters

Paper posters		We have an interesting and diverse collection of posters and signs that would have once been displayed on walls and in windows around the town.
GOS1977.155.1	poster	Advertising a sale arranged by T H Field, solicitor, at the India Arms Hotel, of a house at 4 Clarence Road, belonging to the late H J Scard, Gosport, Hampshire, 8 June 1869. A selling point was that it was near the new barracks. It was a fairly substantial property, two parlours, four bedrooms, Kitchen with a copper – no bathroom mentioned! However, Gas and Water were laid on.
GOS1984.113.3	poster	Advertising a meeting and Poll of ratepayers of the Parish of Alverstoke, against the church rates, Gosport, Hampshire, 19th century. Anyone who occupied land, or a dwelling was expected to pay the rate for the upkeep of the parish church – even if they were not members of the Church of England. In 1868, the Compulsory Church Rate Abolition Act was passed. This Act meant church rates were no longer compulsory, but merely voluntary, with those who were not willing to pay the rate being excluded from “inquiring into, objecting to or voting in respect of their expenditure.”
GOS1981.8.49.1	Poster	Timetable for the Gosport and Fareham Tramways Company showing omnibus routes between Gosport Ferry and Brockhurst, that would come into effect from 2 January 1928. The Fare from the Ferry to Brockhurst was 2d.
GOS1997.50.2	poster	Warning notice defining the rules of use of Anglesey Crescent Gardens, Gosport, Hampshire c.1930. Basically, it was a case of don’t do anything and keep out! Children’s games were allowed only in the East Garden, but that didn’t include football or cricket.
GOS1981.8.49.4	poster	List of Fares for the Gosport and Fareham Tramways Co, omnibus between Gosport Ferry and Fareham Station and the routes in between, c.1928. A trip along the whole route would have cost 5d.
GOS1987.13.1	poster	Poster advertising the sale by auction of property at Cold Harbour, Gosport, Hampshire, 12 March 1801. The auction was to take place at the house of auctioneer Mr William Meredith – bearing the Sign of the Bear, Cross Street, Gosport at 6pm in the evening. The property apparently had a most delightful prospect.
GOS1983.55	poster	Poster for Borough of Gosport Rate Act 1967 which is recording the rates for 1983. The rates were to be paid twice yearly, 1 April and 1 October and the annual basic rate was £151.30 with some relief available.
GOS1986.198.2	poster	'This passage is closed by the proprietor for this afternoon in assertion of his rights, April 6th, 1849”. Sadly, we don’t know who the proprietor was, or which passage he was closing, although we know there was many alleyways and passages off the main streets of Gosport town centre at this time, once the hiding places of the notorious press gangs.
GOS1981.8.49.10	poster	Poster showing a fares increase, by Gosport and Fareham Omnibus Co, Hampshire, 1951. The increase was due to a rise in operating costs. It looks like the average increase was about 1/2d. Some of the discounted fares were withdrawn. Someone either couldn’t work out the new fare or were working out how much their journeys would now cost – hence the pencil notes all over the new fares.
GOS1984.113.4	poster	Silver Jubilee Dinner to the Poor, Alverstoke, Gosport Ward, 21 June 1887. Organised to celebrate Queen Victoria’s 50 years on the throne, presumably this was a free lunch provided to those over 50 in the parish, as long as they applied in advance for a ticket. Note the Chairman was one Charles Mumby of drinks manufacturing fame.
FA1991.40.2	plan	Plan of the India Arms Hotel marked 1900. Once one of the premier coaching inns in Gosport, the first meeting of Gosport Council was held there in 1763. The building dates to the early 18th century but the frontage was updated in the early 19th and of course there have been considerable alterations since, although it is Grade II listed. The plan shows the position of the coach house and stables at the back of the building.
GOS1987.135.3	poster	Bus timetable between Ann's Hill and Gosport Ferry. The date is unknown but pre decimalisation in early 1971. Interesting that only lapdogs were allowed, and pushchairs and suitcases were only allowed at the driver’s discretion.
GOS2009.2	poster	Poster with all the details for the evacuation scheme for Gosport Schools during WWII. The nearest destination was Boarhunt, just 7 miles from Gosport town centre, the furthest was Twyford near Winchester, some 21 miles. Interesting that Eastleigh was considered a safe destination given the industrial premises in the town which were eventually targeted by German bombers.

Sail making and ship building tools

Sail Making and Ship Building tools

The many crafts associated with the world of ships, boats and yachts have a long-standing tradition in Gosport. Many civilians would have been employed in the Royal Naval Dockyard working on Naval vessels, but the town also built up a reputation in the design and building of luxury yachts, most notably at Camper and Nicholsons and the manufacture and repair of sails, the best-known company being Ratsey and Lapthorn.

Camper and Nicholsons

The origins of Camper & Nicholson go back to 1782 when Francis Amos started a shipyard in Gosport. His great-nephew and apprentice William Camper took over the business in 1824 and built up a reputation for building fast yachts. In 1842 Ben Nicholson joined the yard as an apprentice and went on to become the chief designer and in 1863 he took over from William, who was retiring. Thus, Camper and Nicholson was formed (the s was added when Ben’s three sons joined the firm). One of these sons, Charles Ernest, went on to design the famous America’s cup J-Class yachts which included Endeavour and Endeavour II, designed for aviation pioneer, Sir Tom Sopwith. After a number of mergers and take-overs, the yard closed in 2005 and is now the site of a marina, but the Camper and Nicholson name lives on globally and still exists as a company within the luxury yachting world.

Ratsey and Lapthorn

The company was formed in 1889 by the merger of two sail making companies; Ratsey sailmakers was started in Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1790 by George Rogers Ratsey and a company started in Gosport in 1825 by James Lapthorn. Both companies were successful in their own right, c. 1800 Ratsey had made sails for HMS Victory, whilst Lapthorn made sails for the British Americas cup entry in 1870. A tradition that continued post-merger leading to them opening a loft in New York in 1902. Their sails were used by both the American entry and the British entry (the Camper and Nicholson designed Endeavour I) in 1934. The Gosport loft was eventually closed but the company continues in Cowes.

Many of the tools required by these trades look familiar, there are also some that are very specific to the needs of the craftsperson. Hence there are some wonderful names, such as: palms, Prickers, fids and Rubbers. We hold a large number of tools donated by local people and many show the signs of long use with initials scratched into handles and wooden handles worn smooth from years of use.

1	GOS1979.21.1	wad punch	Wad punch from sail making trade origin unknown.
2	GOS1978.106.44	wad punch	Wad punch from sail making trade origin unknown.
3	GOS1978.106.32	load gauge	Used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
4	GOS1989.122	gauge	Rope and wire gauge, used by rigger or sailmaker
5	GOS1978.106.62	Pricker	Sailmaker's Pricker, metal shaft, wood handle, used by george Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
6	GOS1978.106.39	Tape Measure	Tape measure, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
7	GOS1978.108.60	pricker	Pricker, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
8	GOS1978.106.10	spike	Sailmaker's spike, metal shaft, wood handle, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
9	GOS1978.106.8	pricker	Pricker, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
10	GOS1978.106.15	spike	Sailmaker's spike, metal shaft, wood handle split, repair, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
11	GOS1978.106.6	pricker	Pricker, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
12	GOS1981.5.2	fid	Fid, used by H Banks esq, sailmaker at Lucas, Portsmouth
13	GOS1989.50.39	hacksaw	Used by local shipwright.
14	GOS1981.48.25	compass saw	Compass saw used in Gosport and believed to have been made c.1900
15	GOS1978.106.24	stitch mallet	Used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
16	GOS1978.106.23	stitch mallet	Used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
17	GOS1978.106.52	hollow punch	Used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
18	GOS1978.106.58	Pricker	Used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
19	GOS1974.125	needle	Sailmakers needle, origin unknown
20	GOS1978.106.63	punch	Sailmaker's punch, brass shaft, wood handle, used by George parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
21	GOS1978.106.49	hole punch	Hole punch/press stud tool used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
22	GOS1978.106.45	pliers	Pliers, metal, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
23	GOS1978.106.51	pliers	Pliers, metal, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
24	GOS1974.96.7	caulking mallet	Caulking mallet, used in ship building and repairing.
25	GOS1978.106.19	serving mallet	Serving mallet, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
26	GOS1978.106.13	Screwdriver	Screwdriver used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne
27	GOS1978.106.55	needle	Needle, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
28	GOS1978.106.47	Tin snips or wire cutters	Something of a mystery object – it still has a piece of string attached although reasons/use are unknown. I was used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport – any suggestions re its name/purpose is much appreciated.
29	GOS1978.106.20	mallet	Wooden mallet, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
30	GOS1978.106.16	mallet	Mallet used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
31	GOS1978.106.26	palm	Sailmaker's palm, leather, metal, makers mark, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
32	GOS1986.21.3	palm	Sail makers palm
33	GOS1978.106.48	punch	Sailmaker's punch, metal , used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
34	GOS1978.106.50	punch	Punch, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
35	No number	Punch	Un-accessioned object no information is available
36	GOS1978.106.36	Rubber	Rubber, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
37	GOS1978.106.37	Rubber	Rubber, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
38	GOS1978.106.35	Rubber	Rubber, used by George Parham at Ratsey and Lapthorne, Gosport
39	GOS1974.96.8	Adze	Adze, with curved ash handle, broad blade curving towards small hammer on other end
40	GOS1988.56.11	plane	Ship building tools used at Camper and Nicholsons in the 1930s
41	GOS1988.56.15	plane	Ship building tools used at Camper and Nicholsons in the 1930s
42	GOS1989.52.7	caulking iron	Caulking iron, single crease, used by shipwrights to push caulking material into the seams of a boat
43	GOS1989.50.12	sheathing hammer	Sheathing hammer, used by shipwright
44	GOS1989.50.45	chisel	Chisel, used by shipwright
45	GOS1989.50.40	screwdriver	Srewdriver, used by shipwright
46	GOS1977.179	Toolbox	Toolbox belonging to a boat builder. The skilled craftsmen would have had their own tools, carried in boxes such as this one.
47	GOS1989.50.38	Archimedean drill	Archimedean drill, used by shipwright

Gosport drinks companies

You could be forgiven for saying that Gosport was once awash with producers of assorted drinks. Within the collection, there are over 100 assorted bottles and flagons representing this once vibrant, local industry.

The best known of these manufacturers was Mumbys. Originally a chemist, in the mid-19th century Charles Mumby saw an opening for the production and sale of mineral water from his establishment at 47-48 High Street, Gosport. Despite having salty seawater on three sides, if you dig down far enough in Gosport, you can hit an aquifer, a source of fresh water. Charles did just that, digging into the backyard of his premises, although the depth of his borehole changes depending on which source you read, from 345ft to 384ft deep!

So began the production of soda water, ginger beer and lemonade, all sold in what became very distinctive vessels. Codd bottles were used for lemonade – a marble in the neck of the bottle helped to keep the contents fizzy. This type of bottle is often found with the neck missing, small children smashing them open for the coveted marble inside.

Equally distinctive are the salt-glazed earthenware flagons often used for ginger beer which came in a range of sizes, either for personal consumption or, presumably, for sale by the glass in drinking establishments.

Mumbys went on to supply both the Navy and the Army, received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria and a main Gosport road was named after Charles, who became a prominent figure in civic life. The success of the business led them to open an office in Portsmouth and the company was floated in 1898, Charles having retired a few years previously and leaving his son in charge. The business passed out of family ownership in 1939 but continued trading under the name into the 1960s.

Mumbys was by no means the only drinks company in Gosport. With a growing population in the 19th century and a significant number of drinking establishments to supply, believed to be around 70, a number of other companies began to produce both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

These companies included Brockhursts and Southwell’s Mineral Water Companies and the breweries Biden, Hobbs and Blake’s.

Probably the most famous of Gosport’s breweries, Blake’s started brewing on their premises in South Street around 1830, next door to their pub, The Royal Oak. Three of the family’s five sons went into the business, – hence the name change to Blake and Son by the middle of the century.

By 1920, they owned at least 22 pubs, often distinguished by a frontage of colourful glazed tiles. Sadly, none of the pubs remain in business, although some of the buildings have maintained their distinctive tiled frontage and can be observed on a drive through town: some are private residences and one is a convenience store. Blake’s was bought out in 1926 by well-known Portsmouth firm Brickwoods, but the T.N. Blakes name lived on when Gosport’s Maternity Hospital was named after him and the maternity ward at the hospital still bears his name.

Plinth – Stone ware flagons
GOS1985.354		Ginger beer flagon, two-tone stoneware flagon, cream body, tan upper, screw top, opening for tap, Mumby's Old Fashioned Ginger Beer, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
GOS1974.149		Ginger beer flagon, two-tone stoneware flagon, cream body, tan upper, screw top, opening for tap, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
GOS1982.27		Flagon, two-tone salt glaze stoneware, screw closure, used in Gosport, Hampshire, made about 1915

Shelf 1

1975.60	Soda bottle	Soda syphon, acid etched glass, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
1981.19.1 TBC	Soda bottle	Soda syphon, acid etched glass, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
1975.33	Soda bottle	Soda syphon, fluted clear glass, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
1974.81	Soda bottle	Soda syphon, clear glass with etched label
1979.18	Bottle	Bottle, green glass, H.J. and W.A. Hobbs, Gosport, Hampshire, c1890. Probably bottom of soda bottle
No number	Bottle	Brockhurst water Mineral Water Company
1987.188	Bottle	Mumby’s bottle with screw cap
1975.416	Beer bottle	Beer bottle, one pint, spring top, used by Biden and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1900
2004.27	Lemonade bottle	Lemonade bottle, screw top, used by Brockhurst Mineral Water Co, Gosport, Hampshire. about 1900
2004.26	Lemonade bottle	Lemonade bottle, screw top, used by Brockhurst Mineral Water Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1900

Shelf 2

No Number	Bottle	Blakes screw top clear bottle
1978.157.2	Beer bottle	Beer bottle, one pint, green glass, Brickwood, brewer, about 1900
1975.417	Bottle	Bottle, one pint screw top bottle, used by Brockhurst Mineral Water Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
1975.58	Beer bottle	Beer bottle, one pint, used by Blake and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1890
1975.54	Beer bottle	Bottle, pint beer bottle, screw top, used by Biden and Co, Gosport, Hampshire about 1880
1981.33.1	Beer bottle	Beer bottle, one pint screw top, used by Ernest Hobbs, brewer, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1900
1985.98	Beer bottle	Blake and Company beer bottle, clear glass
1978.135.48	Beer bottle	Beer bottle, Young and Sons Ltd, Plymouth
1987.158.2	Bottle	Brockhurst Mineral Water Company
1975.59	Beer bottle	Beer bottle, pint, used by Biden and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1880
1978.135.24	Lemonade bottle	Lemonade bottle, one pint screw top, Brockhurst?
1983.15.1	Beer bottle	Beer bottle, one pint, glass, used by Blake and Co, brewer, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1900
2004.21	Lemonade bottle	Lemonade bottle, one pint, used by Mumby's, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920

Shelf 3

1977.39	Beer bottle	Beer bottle, one pint screw top, used by Hobbs, brewer, about 1910
1975.418	Soda water	Bottle, soda water, pale green, one pint, screw top, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
1978.135.15	Bottle	Mumby bottle
1976.189	Lemonade bottle	Lemonade bottle, one pint screw top, used by Brockhurst Mineral Water Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
1974.164	Codd bottle	Lemonade bottle, Codd's bottle, used by W Southwell and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1900
ED2013.02	Bottle	Mumby's bottle
2004.23	Lemonade bottle	Lemonade bottle, half pint, green glass, used by Charles Mumby and Co., lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
1978.142	Lemonade bottle	Lemonade bottle, square shouldered, one pint, green glass, used by the Brockhurst Mineral Water Co., Gosport, Hampshire, about 1910
2004.17	Lemonade bottle	Lemonade bottle, half pint, used by Mumby's, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
1975.56	Lemonade bottle	Lemonade bottle, bullet stopper, used by W Southwell and Co, about 1900
2004.18	Lemonade bottle	Lemonade bottle, half pint, used by Mumby's, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
2010.24	Lemonade bottle	Glass lemonade bottle with a bullet stopper, used by W. Southwell and Co. about 1900.
No number	Beer bottle	Mumby & Co Hop Bitter bottle
1975.52	Beer bottle	Bottle, half pint beer bottle, dark green glass, screw top, S and TN Blake and Co Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire

Shelf 4

1979.2	Ginger beer	Ginger beer bottle, stoneware, screw top, the Brockhurst Mineral Water Co, Gosport, Hampshire, c1910
1976.122	Ginger beer	Ginger beer bottle, stoneware, cream body and tan upper, with blob top, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
1975.419	Ginger beer	Ginger beer bottle, half pint stoneware, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1910
1976.210	Ginger beer	Ginger beer bottle, stoneware, used by W Southwell and Co, about 1890
1979.1	Ginger beer	Ginger beer bottle, two- tone glazed stoneware, HJ and WA Hobbs, Stoke Brewery, Gosport, Hampshire, c1890
1975.53	Ginger beer	Ginger beer bottle, two-tone glazed stoneware, HJ and WA Hobbs, Stoke Brewery, Gosport, Hampshire, c1890
1982.99.1	Ginger beer	Ginger beer bottle, half pint stoneware, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1890
1981.43	Ginger beer	Ginger beer bottle, half pint, salt glazed stoneware
1978.134.3	Ginger beer	Ginger beer bottle, half pint, stoneware, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1880
1976.210	Ginger beer	Ginger beer bottle, stoneware, used by W Southwell and Co, about 1890
1975.230	Drinking fountain	Miniature drinking fountain, for pet birds, stoneware, made by Hobbs
1987.123	Ginger beer	Ernest Hobbs?
1978.159.3	Ginger beer	Ginger beer bottle, half pint, stoneware, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1880
1974.57	Beer bottle	Beer bottle, stoneware, Biden and Co, brewer, Gosport, Hampshire

Shelf 5

2004.19

Lemonade bottle

Lemonade bottle, half pint, green glass, square shoulder, marble intact, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire

2004.25

Lemonade bottle

Lemonade bottle, Codd's bottle, used by W Southwell and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1900

1975.135.17

Mumbys bottle, Portsmouth

1977.230.1

Milk bottle

Milk bottle, pint, used by Kennard, dairy, about 1930

ED2006.125

Codd bottle

Southwell codd bottle

1978.135.18A

Ginger beer

Ginger beer bottle, glass, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1950

1975.50

Lemonade bottle

Lemonade bottle, Hamilton bottle, pale green glass, Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire

1978.135.18.

Bottle

Mumby's bottle

1976.65a

Lemonade bottle

Lemonade bottle, half pint, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920

1974.20

Lemonade bottle

Lemonade bottle, used by Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, pale green bottle with cap top

2004.34

Milk bottle

Milk bottle, one pint, wide mouth, used by DFS Dairy, Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire

No Number

Milk bottle

Stoke Dairy milk bottle

1977.230.2

Milk bottle

Milk bottle, half pint, used by W G Elgie, Stoke Dairy, Alverstoke, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1930

1976.64

Lemonade bottle

Lemonade bottle, Hamilton bottle, dark green glass, Charles Mumby and Co, lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1860

2010.25

Bottle

Pale green glass bottle writing on the side of bottle: William Perkins/By Steam Power/Brockhurst

Gosport Drinks Companies

The best known of these manufacturers were Mumbys. Originally, a chemist, in the mid-19th century, Charles Mumby saw an opening for the production and sale of mineral water from his establishment at 47-48 High Street Gosport. Despite having salty seawater on three sides, if you dig down far enough in Gosport, you can hit an aquifer, a source of fresh water; Charles did just that, digging into the backyard of his premises, although the depth of his borehole changes depending on which source you read, from 345 to 384ft deep!

So began the production of Soda water, Ginger Beer and Lemonade, all sold in what became very distinctive vessels. Codd Bottles were used for Lemonade – a marble in the neck of the bottle helped to keep the contents fizzy. This type of bottle is often found with the neck missing – small children smashing them open for the coveted marble inside.

Equally distinctive are the salt-glazed earthenware flagons often used for Ginger Beer which came in a range of sizes, either for personal consumption, or one assumes, for sales by the glass in drinking establishments.

Mumbys went on to supply both the Navy and the Army, received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria and a road was named after Charles, who became a prominent figure in civic life. The success of the business led them to open an office in Portsmouth and the company was floated in 1898, Charles having retired a few years before, leaving his son in charge. The business passed out of the family in 1939 but continued trading under the name into the 1960s.

Mumbys were by no means the only drinks company in Gosport – with a growing population in the 19th century and a significant number of drinking establishments to supply, (believed to be around 70), a number of other companies began to produce both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

These companies included: Brockhursts and Southwell’s Mineral Water Companies and the breweries; Biden, Hobbs and Blake’s.

Probably the most famous of Gosport’s breweries, Blake’s, started brewing on their premises in South Street in c.1830, next door to their pub The Royal Oak. Three of the family’s five sons went into the business – hence the name change to Blake and Son by the middle of the century.

By 1920, they owned at least 22 pubs, often distinguished by a frontage of colourful glazed tiles. Sadly, none of the pubs remain in business, although some of the buildings have maintained their distinctive tiled frontage and can be observed on a drive through town, some are private residences and one a convenience store. Blake’s were bought out in 1926 by well-known Portsmouth firm Brickwoods, but the T.N. Blakes name lived on when Gosport’s Maternity Hospital was named after him and the maternity ward at the hospital still bears his name.

Bottles

Plinth – Stone ware jars
1	DA1992.157.4	Salt Glazed Earthenware Jar	M. Taylor & Sons Gosport and Fareham
2	GOS1974.149	Salt Glazed Earthenware Jar	Ginger Beer jar, two tone stoneware flagon, cream body tan upper, screw top, opening for tap, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
3	GOS1988.183	Salt Glazed Earthenware Jar	Brockhurst jar
4	GOS1985.354	Salt Glazed Earthenware Jar	Ginger Beer jar, two tone stoneware jar, cream body tan upper, screw top, opening for tap, Mumby's Old Fashioned Ginger Beer, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
5	GOS1985.198	Salt Glazed Earthenware Jar	Smiths jar

Shelf 1.

1	NO Number	Soda Bottle	Mumbys
2	GOS1975.33	Soda bottle	Soda syphon, fluted clear glass, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
3	GOS1981.19.1 TBC	Soda Bottle	Soda syphon, acid etched glass, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
4	GOS1975.60	Soda Bottle	Soda syphon, acid etched glass, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
5	GOS1974.81	Soda Bottle	Soda syphon, clear glass with etched label
6	GOS1979.18	Bottle	Bottle, green glass, H J and W A Hobbs, Gosport, Hampshire, c1890 Probably bottom of Soda bottle
7	GOS2004.26	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, screw top, used by Brockhurst Mineral Water Co, Gosport, Hampshire about 1900
8	GOS1975.416	Beer Bottle	Beer bottle, one pint, spring top, used by Biden and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1900
9	No number	Bottle	Brockhurst water Mineral Water Company
10	GOS1987.188	Bottle	Mumbys bottle with screw cap
11	GOS2004.27	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, screw top, used by Brockhurst Mineral Water Co, Gosport, Hampshire about 1900

Shelf 2

1	GOS1978.157.2	Beer Bottle	Beer bottle, one-pint, green glass, Brickwood, brewer, about 1900
2	GOS1975.417	Bottle	Bottle, one pint screw top bottle, used by Brockhurst Mineral Water Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
3	GOS1975.58	Beer Bottle	Beer bottle, one pint, used by Blake and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1890
4	GOS1975.54	Beer Bottle	Bottle, pint Beer bottle, screw top, used by Biden and Co, Gosport, Hampshire about 1880
5	GOS1981.33.1	Beer Bottle	Beer bottle, one pint screw top, used by Ernest Hobbs, brewer, Gosport, Hampshire about 1900
6	GOS1985.98	Beer Bottle	Blake and Company Beer bottle clear glass.
7	GOS1978.135.48	Beer Bottle	Beer bottle Young and Sons Ltd Plymouth
8	GOS1987.158.2	Bottle	Brockhurst Mineral Water Company
9	GOS1975.59	Beer Bottle	Beer bottle, pint, used by Biden and Co, Gosport, Hampshire about 1880
10	GOS1978.135.24	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, one pint screw top, Brockhurst?
11	GOS1983.15.1	Beer Bottle	Beer bottle, one pint, glass, used by Blake and Co, brewer, Gosport, Hampshire about 1900
12	GOS2004.21	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, one pint, used by Mumbys, Gosport, Hampshire about 1920
13	No Number	Bottle	Blakes screw top clear bottle

Shelf 3

1	GOS1977.39	Beer bottle	Beer bottle, one pint screw top, used by Hobbs, brewer, about 1910
2	GOS1975.418	Soda water bottle	bottle, Soda water, pale green, one pint, screw top, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
3	GOS1978.135.15	Bottle	Mumby Bottle
4	GOS1976.189	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, one pint screw top, used by Brockhurst Mineral Water Co, Gosport, Hampshire about 1920
5	GOS1974.164	Codd Bottle	Lemonade bottle, Codd's bottle, used by W Southwell and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1900
6	ED2013.02	Bottle	Mumbys Bottle
7	GOS2004.23	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, half pint, green glass, used by Charles Mumby and Co., Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
8	GOS1978.142	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, square shouldered, one-pint, green glass, used by the Brockhurst Mineral Water Co., Gosport, Hampshire, about 1910
9	GOS2004.17	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, half pint, used by Mumbys, Gosport, Hampshire about 1920
10	GOS1975.56	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, bullet stopper, used by W Southwell and Co, about 1900
12	GOS2004.18	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, half pint, used by Mumbys, Gosport, Hampshire about 1920
12	GOS2010.24	Lemonade Bottle	Glass Lemonade bottle with a bullet stopper used by W. Southwell and Co. about 1900.
13	No number	Beer Bottle	Mumby & Co Hop Bitter Bottle
14	GOS1975.52	Beer Bottle	Bottle, half pint Beer bottle, dark green glass, screw top, S and TN Blake and Co Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire

Shelf 4

1	GOS1979.2	Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer bottle, stoneware, screw top, the Brockhurst Mineral Water Co, Gosport, Hampshire, c1910
2	GOS1976.122	Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer bottle, stoneware, cream body and tan upper, with blob top, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
3	GOS1975.419	Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer bottle, half pint stoneware, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1910
4	GOS1976.210	Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer bottle, stoneware, used by W Southwell and Co, about 1890
5	GOS1979.1	Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer bottle, two tone glazed stoneware, HJ and WA Hobbs, Stoke Brewery, Gosport, Hampshire, c1890
6	GOS1975.53	Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer bottle, two tone glazed stoneware, HJ and WA Hobbs, Stoke Brewery, Gosport, Hampshire, c1890
7	GOS1982.99.1	Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer bottle, half pint stoneware, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1890
8	GOS1981.43	Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer bottle, half pint salt glazed stoneware
9	GOS1978.134.3	Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer bottle, half pint, stoneware, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1880
10	GOS1976.210	Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer bottle, stoneware, used by W Southwell and Co, about 1890
11	GOS1975.230	Drinking Fountain	Miniature drinking fountain, for pet birds, stoneware, made by Hobbs
12	GOS1987.123	Ginger Beer	Ernest Hobbs
13	GOS1978.159.3	Ginger Beer	Ginger Beer bottle, half pint, stoneware, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1880
14	GOS1974.57	Beer Bottle	Beer bottle, stoneware, Biden and Co, brewer, Gosport, Hampshire

Shelf 5


1	GOS2004.25	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, Codd's bottle, used by W Southwell and Co, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1900
2	GOS1977.230.1	Milk Bottle	Milk bottle, pint, used by Kennard, dairy, about 1930
3	GOS1975.135.17	Bottle	Mumbys Bottle, Portsmouth
4	ED2006.125	Codd Bottle	Southwell Codd Bottle
5	GOS2004.19	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, half pint, green glass, square shoulder, marble intact, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
6	GOS1978.135.18.	Bottle	Mumbys bottle
7	GOS1975.50	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, Hamilton bottle, pale green glass, Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire
8	GOS1976.64	Lemonade bottle	Lemonade bottle, Hamilton bottle, dark green glass, Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1860
9	GOS1974.20	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, pale green bottle with cap top
10	GOS1978.135.18A	Bottle	Ginger Beer bottle, glass, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1950
11	GOS2010.25	Bottle	Pale green glass bottle writing on the side of bottle: William Perkins/By Steam Power/Brockhurst.
12	GOS1976.65a	Lemonade Bottle	Lemonade bottle, half pint, used by Charles Mumby and Co, Lemonade mfr, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1920
13	GOS2004.34	Milk Bottle	Milk bottle, one-pint, wide mouth, used by DFS Dairy, Lee on the Solent, Hampshire
14	No Number	Milk Bottle	Stoke Dairy milk bottle
15	GOS1977.230.2	Milk Bottle	Milk bottle, half pint, used by W G Elgie, Stoke Dairy, Alverstoke, Gosport, Hampshire, about 1930