94. The Square And Compass 1
93. Beachcombing, Birds And The Netherlands
January 2, 2025
95. The Square And Compass
March 6, 2025
I t was Govind Tailor’s idea. He is the man at ‘Jaipur Rugs’ who is responsible for arranging and posting all my blogs. The company’s founder, N K Chaudhary, has been a friend of mine since 1975, when he ran a shop in Churu, Rajasthan. While working on Shekhawati’s wall paintings, I watched his carpet business rise from meek beginnings into prosperity. Last time I was in Jaipur, his son, Nitesh, suggested this blog. He then had to explain what ‘blog’ meant. I would write it; they would post it. After reading through an essay mentioning the pub, Govind said ‘I want to see more pictures, get an idea of what this Square and Compass is.’ So here we are:
It is a drinking place, an ale house, where sociability takes first place while alcohol lubricates, and food supports it. For us boys who passed it by it was a place for grown-ups, hardly interesting. As we grew older, the smell of beer reminded us that it was also a centre of naughtiness, into which many adults graduated. In those days, custom made it a male enclave while the law dictated that one must be over 16 to enter it and, once in, 18 to order drinks. That was a challenge for older youths; most boys succeeded in being served underage. Britain is rich in age constraints; this one I couldn’t pass. At 16, I looked 15 – but then I never wanted to drink alone and my friend, Trev could easily pass for old enough to order drinks. Homeward bound after a day out, we’d stop for a pint, choosing from four Purbeck pubs: The Fox in Corfe, The Scott Arms in Kingston, The King’s Arms in Langton or The Square and Compass in Worth, preferring the latter.
The Square and Compass has been in Newman hands for almost 120 years. One Charles Newman had rented it from the brewer, Strong, in 1907. He ran it until 1953, juggling the local working clientele - quarrymen, farmers, fishermen - against contrasting, seasonal urban holiday makers. In 1948, his son, another Charles, was drowned in Chapmans Pool so it was his daughter, Eileen Newman, who eventually took over the business. In her hands, it was a quiet establishment popular with men from nearby. Trev fitted in the quarry quota.
Eileen was not easily fooled by growing lads, but the fact that Diddy Thomas limps around Swanage is evidence that she could be deceived. Those in search of machismo would enter a pub in groups, aiming to get drunk on her cheapest drink, rough cider. At 16, Diddy had gone in with a group of bikers, drank too much and, when leaving towards Kingston, collided with a telegraph pole. Obviously dead, one of his mates covered his face with his jacket, but another said ‘He moved’. He did, and still does, looking back on a long convalescence as useful lesson in life.
For us, a drink was merely pleasant refreshment. We were bird watchers, naturalists, keen on conservation, which was hardly a word in those days. The landlord of The King’s Arms, Eileen’s nephew, Raymond Newman collected birds’ eggs among other things so we classified him amongst the enemy. He knew of our hostility. In the 1950s, most boys collected eggs. We conservers were in a growing minority. When Eileen retired in 1973, Raymond & his wife, Stella, shifted to The Square and Compass, which made our visits a little uncomfortable. But we were all growing older. Raymond duly gave up egg collecting and turned towards fossils. We reached an unspoken treaty. One evening, he called his young son, Charlie and told him to take me upstairs to show me his egg collection. In return, I gave him a monochrome photo I’d taken, while concealed in bushes, of him climbing a tree to take sparrowhawks’ eggs. After that, having common interests, we got along fine.
Meanwhile. Worth village had changed, becoming increasingly a settlement of holiday cottages and weekend-pads. Urban demand had priced local working people out of the market. Those who had survived this far, finding the value of their homes too great to resist, sold up and moved out. Part of the local social revolution had made motor vehicles widely affordable, so it was still possible for locals from further afield, within and beyond Purbeck, to patronize the pub.
Then Stella, Raymond’s wife, died of cancer too young, leaving two children, Mary and Charlie. Stella was much loved by friends and customers. My earliest memory of her was when she worked as a teenager in one of Swanage’s grocer’s shops. My mother sat me on the counter while she bought supplies. An inquisitive little boy, I was Fascinated by a pyramid of tinned food beside me and pulled out the bottom tin in the interests of science. The pyramid fell in ruins, leaving me shocked, in floods of tears. Stella, behind the counter, was very kind and understanding. After that, in my eyes, she could do no wrong.
Raymond continued to run the business, aided by Ken. Until, In 1993, his son, Charlie and his partner, Sarah, took over ‘The Square’ and finally bought the pub from Whitbread, the brewer. Charlie encouraged musicians perform there. At first they were single performers like Jim Etherington and Nikki, with her guitar. Then groups began to come. In 1992, Charlie and Sarah started an annual summer ‘Square Fair’, which soon became very popular, and the following year coupled it with a stone-carving fortnight. This was first launched in Swanage by the local Council but it lost interest. The sculptor, Mary Spencer Watson, used to come up and she would round off the stone carving with a drinks party at her Dunshay Manor.
Charlie married Cath Bradshaw, passing over the management to Kevin Hunt in 2003. He was particularly keen on the musical aspect of the place, encouraging it to be rich and varied.
Growing older, my visits to the pub became less frequent. For many years I had tended to walk up there later on Friday or Saturday evening and stay till the place closed. The habit has changed to early evening visits, a break while walking home to Dunshay from Chapmans Pool. In 2023, I held a small 80th birthday in the big bar of the pub. Surprising how often a 3 ends the Square and Compass dates! But there is more to come…
