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A village that believes in good ale.
2004
may have seen Haddenham village's first official beer festival,
but the tradition of brewing and enjoying beer and cider
goes back generations.
The
village used to have three breweries and one cider house,
to keep the locals' glasses full, as well as dozens of unofficial
brewhouses. And at one time there were 15 pubs in the village!
The
Green Dragon Restaurant - Churchway
Just up the road from the Church Pond
An
interesting insight into the habits of manual workers in
the last century is found in the excellent book 'The Village
Carpenter' by Haddenham author Walter Rose (after whom the
room housing the 2004 festival was named). Walter complains
that the men working in the saw mills were more interested
in beer than in their work, and at the first sign of rain
they would disappear off to the pub for the rest of the
day:
"For
a long time my father had experienced increasing difficulty
with sawyers. Although the work asked considerable intelligence
and skill, the monotonous slog, in the old days, tended
to develop a dumb mentality that found its relaxation at
the "pub". The sawyers' faith in beer was absolute,
doubtless due to the amount of sweat they lost at their
work. A shower in the morning would send them to seek the
refuge of the familiar settle, and there they often remained
for the rest of the day. The time this lost reduced the
earnings due on Saturday, with consequent dissatisfaction."
"The sawyers' faith in
beer was absolute"
Local historian Michael
Whitney explained how the small population of Haddenham
could support so many pubs and breweries:
"Pubs
were the centre of social life in Haddenham. Men would work
on the land from dawn 'til dusk - it was drudgery. Pubs
and beer livened up people's lives."
The
Red Lion Pub, Church End (opposite the Pond)
Michael
added that up until the First World War pubs were open all
day, and were for men only. Women would often make beer
at home in their cottages, illegally, and perhaps sell to
their friends what they didn't drink themselves.
The
former breweries were sited in Fern Lane, another on the
High Street in Roses Yard (next to what is now the Peking
restaurant, pictured below), and the third in Church End
- the old Malt House. One by one they were bought up by
larger breweries and then closed down.
But
brewing carries on in Haddenham thanks to the Vale Brewery,
whose superb beers will be available to taste at the Festival.
And while Haddenham may no longer boast quite so many pubs,
the reputation of those which remain is excellent.
The
Peking Rendezvous Restaurant - High Street - (by John Farr)
The
fact that the chairman of Aylesbury's CAMRA branch chose
to spend his birthday touring the pubs of Haddenham says
it all, really!
Look
out for the map of Haddenham's former pubs at the Festival
- it's normally kept in a drawer at the Museum, but it will
be making a rare public appearance at the next Haddenham
Real Ale Festival.
Cheers!
By
James Houston
With thanks to
Michael Witney, 'The Village Carpenter' by Walter Rose,
and Haddenham.net
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