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Ye Olde Pubs
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Hare and Hounds. |
The
Cross Keys. |
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The Hare and Hounds was a regular stop for me in the evenings after working late at the studios. With fellow workmates you could discuss philosophy, sort the world out and get a few in, before being chucked out after last orders. The Cross Keys and Spiders Barn were also regular places to visit for an evenings entertainment. |
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Three Brewers: half way up, or down, Priory Street. |
The
Pack Horse inn, once the Church House. |
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The Pack Horse was very popular with bikers and college boozers alike. The landlord, Bob Craven, was a well liked publican and he rivalled 'Roque Revell?' in the Royal Oak for popularity and our business. The Methuen Arms always had a 'better class of people like', the skittles alley was free and you could eat like a Lord - pay a set amount and pile as much food onto your plate as you could embarrassingly fit... and we did! |
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The Royal Oak. |
Methuen Arms Hotel. |
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The Royal Oak was where I went every Sunday lunchtime, back in '74, as it was opposite to where I was staying, in 'Pickwick Caravans' - the shop, not a caravan!. I tended to make a beeline for opening time with the papers in one hand and just enough money in the other to buy a stilton ploughmans and a half-a-pint. Roque's wife made a mean meal and usually more than you could 'plough' through at one sitting. So we made it last... the length of reading the Sunday Times from front to back, including the coloured supplements! The food needed the cat hairs extracted before you ate, but that was expected if you dinned at the Royal Oak. |
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Two Pigs now, the Spread Eagle then! |
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Another popular drinking hole was the affectionately named 'The Spread' (Spread Eagle), now called The Two Pigs. It's proximity to Beechfield, across from Middlewick Lane, meant instant gratification if you were desperate for a drink, so it too had it's clientele of hardened regulars most evenings. Allegedly, you could purchase 'other' substances here, but I wouldn't know anything about that.
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