Visiting the Antelope Inn

I spent about a week In the Antelope Inn when i was about three yrs old in the mid 1940s – I was with my grandparents Mitchell. The inn was owned by a family called Tarver, whose name apparently can come from the French for innkeeper and is very common in this area.

A clear memory

I remember the visit clearly. The bar to the right of the entrance had huge barrels on a shelf behind the bar and the beer was pulled directly from them. The smell was very strong to my young nose. The room we were in had no running water though there was electricity. We had the bowl and pitcher to wash with which was filled from a pump in the back of the house – that was metal with a hinged pumping handle. The toilet was outside with no drainage.

Mushrooming in the morning

My favourite part was going mushrooming early in the morning with the children of the pub in the field behind it. I remember going to the smithy across the green to see the horses being shoed. I also remember going to see films in the barn just along from the inn, I think it was in an upstairs area. They were black and white and with much flicker.

We also had some connection with a family there called Humphries. Hattie lived in a thatched cottage just along from the smithy. I own a set of Italian majolica ware that came from her house.

Good memories. The archive photos are what I remember.