IN JUNE 1965 Wimborne’s newest public house, the Sir Winston Churchill, on the eastern outskirts of Wimborne Minster by the side of the busy A31, was officially opened in tribute to the wartime leader who died a few months earlier.

Owned by the Blandford brewers, Hall and Woodhouse Ltd, it was the eighth new inn to be opened by them since the war.

The story of the Sir Winston Churchill pub began in 1952 when an application for a licence for the site was granted by Wimborne Licensing Justice. As it formed part of Leigh Common it seemed natural that the inn when it was built should be called ‘The Commoners’, but due to drainage and sewerage problems the start of the build was delayed until the autumn of 1964. Solid piles had to be driven in to support the base – the deepest 27ft and the shortest 12ft.

When the building was nearing completion and the name had to be finally decided, one of the directors suggested that it would be appropriate to call the inn after the man who was described as “the Greatest Commoner of them all”. Lady Churchill’s permission was sought and approval was granted.

Built by Burt and Vick Ltd, the inn had two spacious panelled bars, the public being in Canadian driftwood and the lounge in American black cherry, and there was also a self-contained off-licence section. The inn sign in the spacious car park outside depicted on one side Sir Winston in Trinity House uniform and on the other in evening dress.

Landlord of the inn was Jack Smith, and his wife Joyce.

The Churchill family has centuries-old links with Dorset. A gabled farmhouse at Glanvilles Wootton, near Sturminster Newton, was once the home of the great Duke of Marlborough.

During the Great War Sir Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty as he was then – accompanied George V to Blandford Camp to inspect the Royal Naval Division in training there.