Fortune of War

One of at least two ‘Fortune of War’ pubs to have opened at one time or another in the Three Towns (there was another at Millbay in the 1830s), the name is perhaps not surprising in an area where war has brought both prosperity and hardship.

A similarly named pub in Sydney, the first and last stop ashore for soldier and sailors, dates back to 1828 and is that area’s oldest inn, while the erstwhile Fortune of War in Smithfield, London (it was pulled down in 1910) is said to have marked the point at which the Great Fire of London stopped. Meanwhile, another Fortune of War, in Brighton, is shaped to resemble the upside down keel of a wooden warship.

The Fortune of War here in Castle Street was located at the bottom of the street, appropriately enough, just up from the Seaman’s Bethel, and it was in business, but briefly, in the 1850s and 1860s.

Licensees

1852 - James Brown
1857 - William Dolton