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"But you my old friend, lent a depth and a glow,
To those far away days that no others fetched so.
When we mustered through shingle and tussock and snow -
When we drank in the old Naseby pubs long ago."
from 'Where did they go' by Blue Jeans

History of the Ancient Briton

Established in 1863 The Ancient Briton was Naseby's first Hotel.

The original Hotel structure was a single story weatherboard fascade with mud-brick behind. Towards the turn of the century the wooden facade was replaced with a 2 storey brick structure. The Hotel affectionately known as the Top Pub earned the nickname "The Brick" as it was one of the few buildings in the area built in part from red brick. As part of the deco fashion the Hotel was given a flick coated stucco plaster seal, around the 1930's, although you can still make out the underlying brick structure in the right light. The majority of the hotels original construction is in mud brick, testament to the endurance of this material.

In it's early days there was no hospital at Naseby. In the spring of 1867 a miner was brought into the Hotel from Mt Buster badly frostbitten. His fellow diggers collected a sum of money and a room was secured in this Hotel for him. From that time on the Ancient Briton acted as a primitive hospital, where the towns first doctor Daniel McCambridge tended to his patients, with the proprietors wife acting as nurse, right up until 1872 when the town had it's own dedicated hospital built.

The Ancient Briton was a grand structure in its day built from quality materials and by skilled tradesmen of the day. Testament to this is the true 'four square' nature of its walls and foundations today. A real effort was made to build a grand Victorian Hotel, while at the same time having to work within the limitations of building in Central Otago. Due to the lack of forestry in Central Otago timber was a scarce commodity. Any timber used in construction was brought in by horseback. Roof spaces were built in matchstick like frameworks with a steep sloping iron cladding to handle the heavy snowfalls. As such heavy timber beams and finishing's in Central buildings are additions made in recent times and were not the style of the day. The fireplaces in the Ancient Briton were ornate mirrored mahogany features. A grand staircase took pride of place in the entrance way leading to the upstairs accommodation. Beer came in through a second front entrance with an underground cellar. The rooms were finished with turn of the century ornate furniture and timber. In recent times a lodge was procured from a government hydro scheme sale and transported to the site to provide for the numbers that flood the town in the curling and summer seasons.

Today The Ancient Briton compliments the legacy of shops and business many unchanged by the passage of time.

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