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Images: then and now

Formerly ‘Martha Gunns’, this pub stands at 100 Upper Lewes Road.

Martha Gunns then
Image reproduced with permission from Brighton History Centre
Martha Gunn now
Photo by Mike Snewin

Comments about this page

  • Great family pub at lunch times on a Saturday. Nice food and a pint. Never went in on an evening. Some bikers used to live locally and go in too. Good friendly place. (1990’s)

    By N/A (01/01/1900)
  • It was always said that there was a family connection with Martha Gunn as Edwin and Elizabeth Winchester lived in Brighton with Sarah Ann Gunn, a widow aged 66, in the 1881 census. The link has yet to be found.

    By Linda Attrell (05/01/2005)
  • Interesting to see that the last comment was by a Linda Attrell. My partner’s grandmother, Margaret Mary Attrell, nee Pont, used to have her daily tipple in the Martha and go on the Charabanc trips from there, in the 1950s and 1960s, but I feel sure that when I lived just across the road it was named the New Inn. The last publican I knew there was a Jim Smith who, like me, had been a Royal Marine previously.

    By Roger Copelin (26/02/2005)
  • I am 12 yrs old and I am the great, great, great grandaughter of Martha Gunn. I don’t know much about her life but I do know she was famous for bathing.

    By Olivia Killick (18/02/2006)
  • Does anyone know anything about a ship/boat called Martha Gunn that sailed off the English south coast in the 1950s?

    By Malcolm Taylor (20/03/2006)
  • Isn’t the pub named after Martha Gunn (1776 – 1815) whose grave can be seen at St. Nicholas’ Church?

    By Steve (16/07/2006)
  • Iv’e learnt a little bit about Martha Gunn, and I know her great, great, great grandaugther Olivia.

    By Alfie Cheesman (23/02/2007)
  • I am doing some studying on old England and came across this website. It’s very interesting.

    By Olli (06/04/2008)
  • This pub was originally called the New Inn. In the sixties it was very much a pub for local families. The landlord who ran it when I first used it left to take over the newly built Newmarket pub and restaurant just north of Falmer. It was then run by Benny who had worked on the Pullman cars previously.

    By Graham Robinson (13/03/2009)
  • Very interesting! Nice pub!

    By Lou (31/10/2009)
  • My parents and brother ran the New Inn in the 60s – Rose and Peter Pescod with my brother Philip. They moved on to open The Newmarket on the Brighton / Lewes Road. It is so interesting to look at the photo of the now Martha Gunn – the exterior photo takes me right back. When my parents held the licence there were three main bars (public bar, saloon bar and a games room, plus an off licence) The cellars were fantastic under the pub and the living accommodation very spacious.

    By Susan Currie (05/09/2010)
  • My great great grandmother’s parents ran this pub (New Inn) in 1871, They were William and Ellen Penfold.

    By Joanne (05/03/2011)
  • Re the question from Malcolm Taylor about the Martha Gunn being a ship/boat. It was a clinker-built fishing boat I recall in the late 40’s early 50’s that gave pleasure trips in the summer by the Palace Pier. I was a lad at the time living in Holland Street.

    By Vic Bath (07/04/2012)
  • I remember the Martha Gunn when it was called ‘The New Inn’. When we moved to Upper Lewes Road in 1971, I was 14 years old and my sister had some friends that used the pub as it was just over the road. They used to invite me along as I loved playing bar billiards and I used to make up a team. There were 3 bars (as Susan said in 2010), there was the saloon bar which you entered in Edinburgh Road and the public bar in Upper Lewes Road. You had to go through the public bar to the games room at the back. I used to enjoy being included to play bar billiards (whatever happened to such a fab pub game!) and I used to be given the odd sneaky bottle of light ale as well!

    By Paul Clarkson (01/02/2013)
  • Hi I am a descendant of Martha Gunn – I love the family history. Does the pub link into her history? Please tell me more – I am a publican myself. It would be great to hear from you.

    By Steve O'Connor (02/02/2013)
  • I used to live in Edinburgh Road from when I was born in 1944 at number 24. I knew the pub – it was the New Inn untill I was a teenager as my mum and dad used it all the time. It was run by the Davidson family for some years.

    By John Wyatt (30/10/2016)
  • I used to live down Edinburgh Road and hang out with the son Jamie and the landlord was Ben in the 70’s. Always wondered what happened to them? Jamie and I were always in the pub playing billiards etc. Lots of good memories.

    By Sheena Bradford (09/07/2017)
  • New to this. A comment left by Joanne. Years back (2011)mentioned Penfold. My mother is researching them as she knew Gladys and Ed. He was a distant relative. Trying to find out Ellen’s maiden name. Wonder if she’ll see this??

    By Leigh (22/05/2020)
  • Ellen was my maternal great grandmother,
    I have a lovely picture of her.

    By Rosemarie Hide (24/12/2022)

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