h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Pubs with Tales - A691544
Author: Munchkin (Got any good pub tales? See A691544) - U55447

A691544 - Pubs with Tales
Stories about pubs, not necesarily true. Hoping to submit it to Peer Review with a bit of tidying and any more tales I can scrounge.

[applauds]

I like this a lot. I wonder if it's worth linking to some of the other entries on pubs, alchohol etc that are already in the guide. But I can't think of anything else to suggest, other than to incorporate anything else that appears here.

Oh, hang on, you could add an anti-theme pub rant at the start, and perhaps editorialise a bit about the traditional UK pub of the kind that doesn't really exist outside "saxon" countries, and the fact that many UK pubs are *very* old indeed - perhaps non-UK people might not know these things.

Other than that, looking good and feeling fine...


Otto

Ta, I was hoping for odd tales more than editorials, but I will bare that in mind when I next get a chance to update it. Thanks for reading.

have you tried linking to this in askh2g2? i seem to remeber a conversation aboutthis but i cant remeber where it was or if this entry is spawned from it...sorry,

FABT

Yep, I started that conversation and created this article from it. It dried up somewhat, so I thought I'd see if there were any more gems going before I finalised it.

well its a good article.

i know its a bit unethical but perhaps you could askh2g2 again and provide a link to your entry to see if anyone new has an idea

other than that its great

Hi there,
I have inbibed in a couple of the establishments you describe, purely in the interests of research you understand and I'd like to throw in a few bits of information that you may find useful.

The Smith's Arms. Legend has it that it was previously a blacksmiths and King Charles II stopped by to have his horse re-shod. He asked for a drink and was told by the smithy that he could not serve ale because he did not have a licence. The King promptly granted him a licence on the spot and that was how it became a public house.

The Tan Hill Inn. It used to boast that the fire in its hearth had never gone out in living memory. It was also used as the setting for a series of national television adverts in the 1960's because of its location which was reckoned to be one of the windiest places in
Britain. A TV personality of the time by the name of Ted Moult used to advertise the benefits of a double glazing companys wares by dropping a large feather on the inside of one of the windows during a gale which would fall to the floor without being disturbed by draughts.

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem. 1189 AD. This is (or was)the name and date on the outside of the pub not 'The Old' etc.
The Cock and The Bull. They are two inns side by side in the main street of Stony Stratford which was in coaching days a main route (A5) out of London. Coaches would break their journey there and passengers would swop the latest gossip as they headed for, or came out of London. No doubt the stories became more inflated and unbelieveable with the consumption of ale and that gave rise to the expression 'A cock and bull story'.

The Moon Under Water. A candidate for the largest pub in Britain at Deansgate, Manchester was named by its owners J D Weatherspoon after George Orwell's vision of the perfect pub. (I think there's a chain of them now)It can hold up to 1,800 customers in its three bars and has no piped music or games tables.
Hope this helps
all the best A.M.

Exactly what I am looking for. I'll try to add these over the weekend at some point.

i always thought 'cock and bull' refered to male genitalia......but i am sure i am mistaken......

FABT

Here's a couple or three more for you

The Woolpack. In the Cotswolds village of Slad, near Stroud, Gloucestershire. The Woolpack was the local of author Laurie Lee and was mentioned in his book 'Cider with Rosie'. Lee died in 1997 and is buried in the churchyard immediately over the road. The pub contains some memorabilia on Lee's life and works.

Jamaica Inn. At Bolventnor on Bodmin Moor half way between Bodmin and
Launcteston, Cornwall. The author Daphne du Maurier stayed there and got herself lost in the fog on the moor, an event that inspired her to write the tale which immortalised this PH as a centre of 18th century smuggling, wrecking and murder. On the floor of the bar is is a memorial which states: 'On this spot Joss Merlyn was murdered'. In fact this is an event that occurred only in the book, not in real life.
A real and much sadder tale is associated with the inn when in the earlier part of the 20th Century a child went missing from a children's party that was taking place in the garden. During a game of
hide and seek the young son of the owner went missing and was never seen again despite long and sustained searches. He was supposed lost on the moor.

The Bear Hotel at Stock, Essex. One Charles 'Spider' Marshall who was an ostler at the hotel was known to make extra beer money by performing his party trick of climbing up the inside of one of the bar's chimneys and coming down the interconnected chimney of another. His liking for the inside of the chimney was such that sometimes he would stay up until a fire would have to be lit to smoke him out.
However, one Christmas day he went up the chimney and never returned. He is reputed to be up there still.

The Ram Jam Inn. At Stretton, Leicestershire. An 18th Century guest at the inn couldn't pay his bill, so in recompense he offered to show the landlady how she could get two different ales from the one cask. He drilled a hole in a full barrel in the cellar and got her to ram her thumb into the hole to stem the flow. He drilled another in the
other side of the barrel and again got her to plug the hole with her other thumb. While she was thus 'jammed' keeping the ale in the barrel, the non paying guest fled.

All the best A.M.

OK, I've added the new stuff () and I am going to move this to Peer Review, just as soon as I work out how

I'd love to be able to provide you with a more specific story than this, but there is a pub somewhere near Blakeney in Norfolk, the name of which I can't remember, which has an E-type Jag engine mounted in the fireplace of the lounge bar. For a nominal donation in the charity box the landlord will fire her up for you. If I can find out the name of the place, I'll be back...

H.