The pub in pre-war days

The Lord Nelson pub in the 1930s was very much a Lettres affair. In the mid 1930s the pub was run by Mr David(?) Lettres and during this time his grandson, Pat, and parents lived above.

When David died, his son Ernest (Pat’s uncle) took over the pub and the rest of the family including Pat and his parents lived around the corner in Kensington Place. This must have been a busy time for Ernest as he ran the local paper shop in Trafalgar Street as well.

Pat remembers having to wait until late on a Sunday for Sunday lunch because, as Ernest joined the family for lunch after shutting the pub, the meal rarely started before 2.30.

Comments about this page

  • The landlord of the Lord Nelson from 1909 to 1936 was Francis William Marlow known as Billie. He married Emma Drew (sister of Edmund Jury Drew, succcessively landlord of the Russell Arms and the Hare & Hounds) in Brighton in 1931. Billie Marlow was a professional cricketer who played for Sussex from 1891 to 1906, thereafter a first class umpire. He died on 7th August 1952 in a nursing home thought to be on London Road. I have a photograph of Emma Drew and would very much like to find one of Billie Marlow.

    By Dudley Procter (04/09/2008)
  • From several recent visits I can say that this is an excellent and friendly pub with good food and an astonishing range of Harvey’s beers (including Mild and the seasonal Tom Paine) that even the John Harvey in Lewes would find hard to match. Thoroughly recommended and an oasis in an area that is becoming so gentrified that a sensibly priced, good decent local is becoming hard to find.

    By Adrian Baron (06/08/2009)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.