BOAT CUISINE

Phil Sampson visits an historic establishment on the banks of the Beaulieu River

MASTER BUILDER'S HOUSE BUCKLER'S HARD

With the many gastronomic pleasures we have the French to thank for, perhaps one of the more unexpected is the Master Builder's House in Buckler's Hard. For if the grand plan of John, second Duke of Montagu, had gone ahead, this idyllic spot on the Beaulieu River would have been part of a freeport dedicated to the import and export of sugar from the West Indies. Unfortunately for the Duke, but luckily for the rest of us, his plans were scuppered when the French seized the islands. This lead to Buckler's Hard being repurposed as a shipbuilding centre and in 1929 the Shipbuilders' House, (now the Master Builder's) was built.