A FORMER landmark pub is facing an uncertain future after it was closed and boarded up.

The Smoking Outlaw in Wimborne Road, Bournemouth, has been put up for sale a year after it opened.

The pub was previously called the Horse and Jockey and had a history dating back to the 1920s when a racecourse opened on the nearby Ensbury Farm Estate.

There were National Hunt races, grass track and greyhound events at the venue, which was envisioned as the ‘Ascot of the South’ before it closed a few years later.

The Smoking Outlaw, which opened in February 2016, announced it was no longer serving food in January this year.

A statement by the owners on the pub’s Facebook page said: “A big thank you goes out to all those that have supported my wife and I while we tried to set up a great new concept in Bournemouth.

“We are still open for a while for drinks so feel free to pop in for a beer or two, or three, but the smokers are now at rest.”

It is unclear if or when the pub will re-open, but news of its closure has shocked ward councillor Sue Anderson.

She said: “I’m shocked and surprised to hear the pub has closed – I’m absolutely gobsmacked to be honest.

“The pub had been open for a long time as the Horse and Jockey, and recently it had looked better than it had for 30 years.”

She added: “I’d like to see it re-open as a pub. British pubs are closing everywhere, and with this closure it’s a long way for locals to walk to the next pub.”

Cllr Anderson said she also blamed the number of off-licences in the area for affecting the pub trade.

"There are too many little shops selling alcohol, which are having an affect on pubs," she said.

The Smoking Outlaw is not the first pub to close in the Moordown area recently.

It follows the closure of another nearby pub, the Holly Tree.

Developers have since been trying to get approval for plans to build houses at the site, although the latest proposals were rejected by planning officers earlier this year.

The Horse and Jockey

THE Horse and Jockey pub - where it has been specifically named - dates back to 1841.

While some people believe the name derives from the nearby Ensbury Park Racecourse, which was operating in the 1920s, the Horse and Jockey predates the course by decades at least.

Innkeepers James Martin and James Rixon are mentioned in the 1901 and 1841 censuses, respectively.

It is one of several pubs in the areas of Moordown, Muscliff and Charminster particularly where a reference has been made to hunting, eg Galloper's Breath, Hound's Hill.

While there is no proof that the Horse and Jockey dates back as far, there is evidence that a coaching inn would most likely have been situated on the corner of Wimborne Road and Portswood Drive possibly during 1509 when the then owner of the Manor of Christchurch - Henry VIII - appointed Thomas Westbury, yeoman of the chamber, to be a keeper of the hunt of Sturfield, Hampshire.