Fawley does not appear to have had an inn in the 19th century. However, in the 1861 census,
Henry Harman, who had been an agricultural labourer, ran a beer house. In the 1871
census, his widow is running a grocer’s shop retailing beer. Thereafter there is no mention of
the sale of beer in that century. Perhaps there was insufficient trade for a village of less than
300 inhabitants?
Also in 1871 and 1881, Emma Sharpe ran a grocer and baker shop in Fawley. The baker’s
shop appears to have been taken over by Charles Heath in 1891 and was run as a grocer
and baker shop in 1901 by his widow Hester Heath.
Fawley’s first dedicated inn was therefore the Walnut Tree, opened in the 1960’s. It attracted
trade from outside the village with the advent of the growing ownership of motorcars. As well
as serving beers and spirits, The Walnut Tree had a reputation for serving good food. Sadly
this inn is now closed, overgrown with creepers and is for sale.I found a review of this pub that stated that someone passed by this pub on February 20th 2005 and saw that the pub was closed and that the sign was even missing.I found the last entry for any review of this pub to be in 2003,so I assume this was the year it closed it`s doors for good.