THE NEW HOUSE

Old Tavern House, 18 Hasse Road, Soham, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5

Many people in Soham will remember the New House, a pub which stood in Hasse Road and which was kept for many years by Mr and Mrs John Fuller. Mrs Doris Arnold is one of their grandchildren and remembers the happy days spent with the horses and riding in the carts around land that Mr Fuller farmed, adjoining the house. She recalls that Mrs Fuller made lots of home-made sweets which she would give to the children in little twists of paper.
There were many families who went for walks in the vicinity of the pub and whilst the men enjoyed their pint indoors, the mothers would sit outside and chat, and the children would play.As well as enjoying cooking, Mrs Fuller reared turkeys and sold milk and home-made butter. The license was taken over by John Fuller's son, Robert, and his wife, who held it until closure.
During the Second World War soldiers built a bunker close to the pub in preparation for a possible enemy invasion and Mrs Arnold recalls holding her baby niece in her arms as she watched the building of it.
The Soham Railway Explosion on June 2nd 1944 caused much damage to buildings in the town and although it stood a long way from the station, the vibration shattered glass in the windows of the pub.
Often the drinkers would call for "the old White City" - an outsize jug of ale which would be drunk with gusto and by closing time regulars would agree that it had been a "good night". Mrs Fuller moved to Isleham and the former pub is now a private dwelling.