Striking Camp

The district of Camp is alleged to have received its name from the succession of eighteenth-century military training camps held on Earl Verulam's land at Cunningham Hill.  Probably to service the needs of soldiers present, a part-time supplies shop would have been created, which, inevitably, included the sale of alcohol.  The little community which grew up around these military requirements became the early Camp Hill, which defines its geographic location perfectly.

By the late 19th century the Old Camp Beer House was still open for business, along with the adjacent shop, but Thomas Kinder, and then Adey & White, successive brewing owners, had found it a trading millstone, operating from a building which was almost impossible to improve.  So Hertford brewer McMullen's purchased the Old Camp, but its acquisition was for the license alone.  The Camp district had just begun by the turn of the 20th century, and McMullen's, with an active license, could take advantage of the opportunities a growing population offers.

Shortly before the First World War it had constructed and opened an impressive new structure further along Camp Road (on the corner of Roland Street although that road did not appear until the late 1920s).  First called the New Camp – to distinguish it from the former premises – and later the Camp, it became a highly successful establishment, with offshoot social clubs and groups.

The Camp PH has been at the heart of the district for over a century, and many of us can be forgiven for thinking it will always be there.  But it is a business, and as a business it has to make a profit.  So it will come as a blow to many locals to discover that McMullen's has decided to close the premises in May of this year.

As I understand it, not even the impressive building will remain for another use.  The flats to be constructed on the site, if granted planning consent, will be new builds.  But there is still time for plans to change, as often they do.

After May, Camp will be a dry district, which is how Fleetville was for three decades until the arrival of the Rats' Castle.  That pub will now be the nearest public house for most Camp residents, or the Crown for those living at the western end.  Perhaps one of the beneficiaries might be the Royston Club.  It does pose an interesting question though: is any other residential district in this city 'dry?'

As McMullen's strikes
camp and move out we take a look at how social the premises were in the 1920s and 30s; one of the groups – its darts team – lining up for a photo with supporters before heading off for a day out.

Musical group accompanying darts team on a charabanc outing before the
pub was upgraded.  Photo courtesy TERRY SWAIN.