The Shooting Star (Stoneham Inn)
Most pubs were built on street corners and so the mid terrace location of The Shooting Star is fairly unusual. Its history provides an explanation for this.
Numbers 40 and 42, Bevois Valley started out as two separate shops. The internal lay out of the pub clearly shows that two buildings have been amalgamated into one. Up until 1938 no. 40 had many reincarnations including a greengrocer, a cycle shop, a bootmakers, a wardrobe dealer and ‘dining rooms’. Frederick Moyle was the owner of no. 42 for many years and started out in 1886 as a watchmaker. In 1888 he decided that selling vegetables would be more lucrative and then in 1898 became a beer retailer. Around 1938 the two businesses joined up and became The Stoneham Arms (named for Stoneham Place which was to the rear of the terrace). It remained the Stoneham Arms until 1994.
Between then and now it has adopted various guises – Buskers, Legends, O’Malleys, Kolebka – before becoming today’s The Shooting Star.
Between then and now it has adopted various guises – Buskers, Legends, O’Malleys, Kolebka – before becoming today’s The Shooting Star.