The Little John Inn
The Little John Inn at Hathersage
in Derbyshire reminds us that Robin Hood’s trusty lieutenant, known as Little
John, is reputed to have hailed from there. A huge grave in the churchyard at
Hathersage is claimed to be that of this man, having died in a nearby
cottage. In 1847, the occupant of the
cottage, Jenny Shard, a woman of 70, who had had the story from her father and
which had been handed down in the family, remembered the grave being opened by
Captain James Shuttleworth, when a thigh bone 32ins long had been found,
indicating that it was of a very big man.
Added to the story is the fact that there was at one time in the church
a long bow and cap, said to have belonged to Little John. At some stage they were taken away for safe
keeping? by the local squire and their
present whereabouts are not known.
The George and
Dragon Inn
Perhaps the man who painted the clock face on the church
at Old Brampton near Chesterfield in Derbyshire
spent too much time at the George
and Dragon Inn opposite Time goes by at a leisurely pace in this
small village and one of the reasons for this is probably due to the fact that
the church clock has 63 minutes marked
on it.
The Rutland Arms
Hotel
The cook at The
Rutland Arms Hotel, a very
impressive old hostelry at Bakewell in Derbyshire, made culinary history in the
mid 19th century when she inadvertently produced the recipe for Bakewell
Pudding. Instead of stirring the
egg mixture into the pastry and then filling the tart she was making with
jam, the cook put the jam into the tart
first and then poured the egg mixture over it.
A simple mistake, but the resultant dessert was so successful that it
became established and has been made at the Bakewell Pudding
Shop across the road since about 1860.
The Miner’s Arms
This old village pub at Eyam in
Derbyshire dates back to the early 17th century. We are reminded of an unusual incident which
took place in the pub in 1684 when the village rector, The Rev. Joseph Hunt
took part in a mock marriage between himself and the landlord’s 18 years old
daughter Ann. This bibulous frivolity
proved to have dire consequences for the rector, because when the bishop heard
about it he made the Rev. marry the girl properly, despite the fact that he was
engaged to another woman. We are not
told whether the marriage survived.
The Cock Inn
The Cock
Inn at Hanbury in
Staffordshire had to be rebuilt in 1944 when it was blown up
by a tremendous
explosion.
A plaque on a memorial stone
alongside a huge crater nearby, tells
the dramatic story:
‘ Just after 1100 hours on 27th November 1944, the largest
explosion caused by conventional weapons in both world wars, took place at this
spot, when some 3500 tons of high explosives accidentally blew up. A crater some 300ft deep and approximately a
quarter of a mile in diameter, was blown into the North Staffordshire
countryside. A total of 70 people lost
their lives and 18 bodies never being recovered. The 21 MU RAF
Fauld disaster is commemorated by this memorial, which was dedicated on
25th November 1990, some 46 years after the event.
-
As a board outside the pub
tells you, you can find the story of the explosion here at The Cock Inn.
The Bull and Spectacles
This
This This curiously named pub at Blithbury near Uttoxeter dates back to c1650 and was originally known as ‘The Bull’. The story goes that one evening, a drunken customer climbed up onto the pub sign and put his spectacles on the bull. Another story tells that a prize bull nearly died after eating some poisonous berries and a local wag suggested that it should be fitted with spectacles. Whatever the reason, the name of the pub was changed.
This This curiously named pub at Blithbury near Uttoxeter dates back to c1650 and was originally known as ‘The Bull’. The story goes that one evening, a drunken customer climbed up onto the pub sign and put his spectacles on the bull. Another story tells that a prize bull nearly died after eating some poisonous berries and a local wag suggested that it should be fitted with spectacles. Whatever the reason, the name of the pub was changed.
The Crooked House
Inn
Make sure that you are stone cold
sober before you approach The Crooked
House Inn at Himley in Staffordshire, where customers stagger in the doorway even before they have
sampled the fine ales on sale here.
This curious building has been freakishly distorted by mining subsidence
and it is difficult to walk properly anywhere in the place. Once you have managed to orient yourself in
these unusual surroundings, you will be further startled to find that on one
table the bottles roll uphill!
The Tontine Hotel
Situated directly opposite the bridge at Ironbridge in
Shropshire is a very fine building,
The
Tontine Hotel.
When the Iron
Bridge was opened to general traffic in 1781, it was to become a huge
attraction not only to those who would use the bridge but also to visitors from
all over the world who would marvel at this great feat of engineering and
skill. Those concerned with the building
of the bridge decided to build a hotel to accommodate such visitors and formed
a partnership which was a ‘Tontine’.
This was a scheme invented by one
Lorenzo Tonti in 1653, a kind of life annuity which increased for the
survivor’s as the subscriber’s eventually died. When only three shareholders were left, then
the hotel would become their property in proportion to the number of shares
which they held.
The Four Alls
Inn
This village pub at
Welford-on-Avon in Warwickshire bears the curious name, The
Four Alls Inn. The explanation is
to be found inside on a very fine stained glass window in the bar which depicts
four figures, and these are The Four Alls : 1.
A soldier = fight all; 2. A priest =
pray all; 3. A king
= rule all; 4. A
peasant = pay all.
The Four Alls
To whom I am grateful for the use of his Geograph photograph.
The Castle Inn
The Castle Inn at Radway in
Warwickshire, situated on Edge Hill, actually started life as a castle albeit a
sham castle. On the centenary of
the Battle of Edgehill, gentleman
architect and owner of Radway Grange, Sanderson Miller, erected this building
on the very spot where Charles 1 raised his standard on the 23rd of
October 1642, thus launching the first major encounter of the Civil War. As well as marking the site of this historic
battle, the sham castle also functioned as an ornamental gatehouse for Mr
Miller’s estate. The building became a
pub in 1924.
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