Beggars Bush: A Perambulation through the Disciplines of History, Geography, Archaeology, Literature, Philology, Natural History, Botany, Biography & Beggary

Ubud, Bali Beggars Bush 1979

A  former restaurant and pub mentioned on numerous tourist websites. It was founded by an Englishman, Victor Mason, and opened on 5th November 1979 with a run from the premises by the Bali Hash House Harriers, also founded by him in 1977. This site is unique as we can be sure why the name was given, as I was able to ask Victor Mason.

He says that he intended to name the pub The Hare & Hounds, as an allusion to the school-boy sport and the Hash House Harriers. The name Beggars Bush came from Walter Thornbury and Edward Walford’s Old and New London (1893) in which their account of the disreputable London pub called The Hare & Hounds at St Giles, London mentions Beggars Bush as an earlier name which he liked.

Victor Mason is also the author of a book called Bali Bird Walks and leads bird watching walks in the area, as well as being known for his occasional recitals of Shakepeare and Burns to exhausted Hash House Harriers.

Even with this modern site the location is variable. Some travel sites give at jln. Hanoman Padangtegal Kelod, at the west end of the town, towards Campuan, but Victor Mason says it was at the other end of town on J1 Raya Ubud, next to Tjampuhan bridge, where the sign can still be seen (as at 2011).

See also Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, where a new restaurant and the most recent Beggars Bush is reported named after this pub, returning the name to England (although Victor Mason says he knows nothing of this).

Location

8’30’S 115’15’E

Thanks

Personal communication Victor Mason, and certain Hash House Harriers

See also

Bali Bird Walks

Posted: March 19th, 2011 | Filed under: Places | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments »

4 Comments on “Ubud, Bali Beggars Bush 1979”

  1. 1: Fern Henry-Pearsons said at 10:55 pm on October 3rd, 2016:

    Victor Mason was correct on the location of “The Beggar’s Bush Pub”. My husband and I loved it there…..we had dinner there twice….once we were the only people dining. The owners were gracious and eager to help us try Indonesian dishes, when we said, “No ‘English-style’ food please.” We sat on plush cushions and noshed all night. I discovered ‘Bali Hai’ coolers which became my ‘go to’ quaff. When they heard we had travelled from Canada, they were so excited and wanted to know about snow and bears and moose…lol The family all came out and ate with us and let the family pets come out when they saw we loved cats and dogs. So there we sat, late into the evening…eating, laughing, watching the moon over the trees and rice patties….It was, perhaps, not the most polished or gourmet restaurant in which we dined while in Bali….but certainly the most convivial.

  2. 2: Helen Carr said at 2:06 pm on January 2nd, 2023:

    Memories are made of this .. Uncle Victor! Uncle of James Wareham, my school mate. We visited Ubud in 1988. I have just skyped with a friend who is on one of the islands close to Bali and checked the internet and here we are! Are you still in Bali Uncle Victor? After Bali, we flew to Sydney where I went on to work for the BBC. You were the focus of one of the Stringer’s pieces – your created the first cricket ground / team if I recall.

    Get in touch – happy days ..

  3. 3: beggarsbush said at 2:44 pm on January 2nd, 2023:

    Sadly Victor has died since I posted this. He was, from my communications with him, and with people who knew him, a character who many people remember with fondness.

  4. 4: Alan Scott said at 11:55 am on May 31st, 2023:

    Enjoyed Lunch and Drinks at Beggars Bush ‘ in 1986 .
    Beautiful ambience .
    Played the skill game by putting ring in horn .


Leave a Reply