An Inn bearing the name The Fortune of War has stood
on or near the present building since the early 1800s. The building as seen today is thought to
have been rebuilt sometime around the early 1900s. The Inn, along with others from Essex including
the Billericay/Bowers Gifford/Brentwood areas, was included in a sale prospectus for an auction
held at Chelmsford on January 30th, 1830. Its location was noted as being in Wash Road, Great
Burstead. By the 1900s brewers Ind Coope had control, and a sign opposite the pub invites
the visitor to sample 'Ind Coopes Romford Ales & Stouts'. Just how the pub acquired its name
is still a source of contention. One theory suggests it was founded by a soldier returning from
the Napoleonic Wars which ended in 1815, and another cites a 'Fortune Fair' held in a nearby field
since time immemorial. The pub closed in 1925 when the licence was transferred to a new Fortune
of War built at the Laindon crossroads of the recently opened (1925) A127 London - Southend road. It
was resited no doubt to take advantage of the influx of day trippers stopping off on their way to
Southend, and for the expected increase in general custom as a result of being in a prominent location
on a main road. The final landlord was Francis Frederick Tubb who transferred to the new Fortune
of War Hotel on opening. Within months of the new Fortune opening the building was put up for
sale at auction in July 1925 along with three adjoining cottages. The cottages sold for £500 but
the pub was withdrawn at £650. The former public house did end up with new owners and is still
standing today having had many uses through the years. The local council were considering moving
some of their departments there though eventually chose the town centre. From around 1934 it became the headquarters of
Wrights Removals (F.A. Wright), who previously traded from around 1931 at 'Wyndcliffe' in High Road, Laindon. From around the
1940s to the late 1960s it became the base for a tie, neckwear and scarf manufacturer S.B. Caplin & Co. Ltd. It was during this
time that it became addressed as the Fortune Works, an acknowledgement of its historical past. Arnada
Security were another business based there around the turn of the 1970s. In 1970 Christopher
Yeomans took over the building for his printing business, eventually acquiring the property. With
his sons Chris, Tony and Danny this became Yeoman Bros. Printers and much work was done to improve
the house which now had a white exterior and had suffered from neglect. From the mid 1970s Fortune Insurance
& Investment Brokers were based there and later into the 1980s another printers; Anthony Gover
Printers Ltd. used the premises. Possibly during the 1980s a fire occurred but fortunately the building was not badly
damaged. The Fortune of War name at the front of the building survived into the 2000s though later covered by the
printers sign. The building is now used by vehicle tyre and alloy wheel
dealer DGT who set up business there in the 2000s. In 2017 the current owners began work on a large extension to the main building.
The old Fortune has also now outlasted the new
Fortune of War which was demolished in 2003. The road on which it stands is now called Wash Road West. | 
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