| Postcards of the Past |
| Aston Cantlow, Warwickshire. |
Aston Cantlow is a pretty Warwickshire village not far from Wilmcote. As kids, we used to walk or cycle
here a lot. There is a great pub, the Kings Head, which used to be run by my dad's friend Spence
Edkins and then by his son - maybe it's still in the family. It was famous for its duck suppers !!
My mum and dad kept the "Masons' Arms" at Wilmcote for many years during and after the War (World
War 2 !!). Just after the war, there was a shortage of everything, including beer, and Flowers Brewery
couldn't supply my dad with enough to cope with the demand in Wilmcote. Spence Edkins was a good
family friend and he used to let dad "borrow" a few cases of beer when he ran dry. The Kings Head
was I think a Mitchells and Butlers house in those days, so the situation arose where a Flower's pub
was selling M and B ! Flowers were not amused and our supply magically increased ! But we still used
to sell out of beer by Saturday nights, especially in the summer, so on Sunday evenings a whole group
of drinkers from Wilmcote would walk across the fields to Cantlow - I remember Frank Baker, Tom and
Nancy Townsend and their son Tom ( who used to organise coach trips to Perry Barr Speedway !),
Jummy Crowe and his son Peter, and Fred Edkins - and of course mum and dad and me. I had to sit
outside with a bottle of pop.
From Wikipedia:
Aston Cantlow is a village and civil parish in the Stratford district of Warwickshire, England, on the River
Alne. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,674. The parish includes the
villages of Aston Cantlow, Little Alne, Shelfield, and Newnham.Paper making and needle scouring were
two major trades in the village in times past. It is the only village in Warwickshire of whom a resident has
been canonized, namely Saint Thomas Cantelupe. It is also thought that John Shakespeare married
Mary Arden here in 1557.
here a lot. There is a great pub, the Kings Head, which used to be run by my dad's friend Spence
Edkins and then by his son - maybe it's still in the family. It was famous for its duck suppers !!
My mum and dad kept the "Masons' Arms" at Wilmcote for many years during and after the War (World
War 2 !!). Just after the war, there was a shortage of everything, including beer, and Flowers Brewery
couldn't supply my dad with enough to cope with the demand in Wilmcote. Spence Edkins was a good
family friend and he used to let dad "borrow" a few cases of beer when he ran dry. The Kings Head
was I think a Mitchells and Butlers house in those days, so the situation arose where a Flower's pub
was selling M and B ! Flowers were not amused and our supply magically increased ! But we still used
to sell out of beer by Saturday nights, especially in the summer, so on Sunday evenings a whole group
of drinkers from Wilmcote would walk across the fields to Cantlow - I remember Frank Baker, Tom and
Nancy Townsend and their son Tom ( who used to organise coach trips to Perry Barr Speedway !),
Jummy Crowe and his son Peter, and Fred Edkins - and of course mum and dad and me. I had to sit
outside with a bottle of pop.
From Wikipedia:
Aston Cantlow is a village and civil parish in the Stratford district of Warwickshire, England, on the River
Alne. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,674. The parish includes the
villages of Aston Cantlow, Little Alne, Shelfield, and Newnham.Paper making and needle scouring were
two major trades in the village in times past. It is the only village in Warwickshire of whom a resident has
been canonized, namely Saint Thomas Cantelupe. It is also thought that John Shakespeare married
Mary Arden here in 1557.
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