Memories Of The Red Lion

A Memory of Wareside.

I was born in 1966 and lived in the Red Lion. My dad and mum were married in 1961. My dad lived in the village all his life, moving to the Red Lion on his marriage. My dad was formerly of Temperance Hall, down the road from the village stores.
Mum and Dad lived in the Red Lion in one room for several months before Dad had renovated it to be liveable. The Red Lion has a circular stair case which runs from the celler to the lounge then on to the second floor then on to the attic which was renovated in 1978ish when Dad also rebuilt the chimney on the back of the property, adding a twist to it.
There was three of us, myself and a brother and a sister. We played in the ditch which ran through the Red Lion property and the surrounding fields. We used to go to Jacob's Ladder which is on the way to Bakers End if you follow the ditch north. We played at Hogham Woods and stole Mr Gosnal's apples from his orchard which was across the road from the village shop. As you went up Fishers Hill on the right was a tree and we called it the fairy tree, I don't know why, it was always called it and in the field at the top you were guaranteed mushrooms when the season was right.
There was 3 new houses built at the Red Lion Yard, and a set of garages. The Tudor Cottage which was owned by a ladie called affectionately by us as 'Bossy' is still there to this day also.  I remember walking up Fishers Hill with me mum and Bossy and her dog Jamie which was a little Yorkshire terrier.

As you go over Fishers Hill and come down the other side there was a water well which is still there to this day and I can't resist trying to get the wheel running whenever I am in the village for a walk.
I attended the village school along with all the other children from the village. Outside the staff room was a rose garden where we had our school photos taken on starting school. We had a school swimming pool. The autumn was always a favourite time of year at school as the conker trees at the bottom of the school fields were laden with conkers. We had a fab cook, Mrs Carter, and dinner ladies were Mrs Storey, Mrs Rowe and later came along Mrs Chappel who was also the school secretary. If you were picked to ring the dinner bell you felt important for the rest of the day. My first teacher was called Mrs Reed and our class was in the hall where the dining room was. I remember Mrs Porter also, she played the piano for assembly in the mornings and taught the older children. We also had a swimming gala every year and it was always fun. We even had a bonfire night at the school with the fence to the next field as a safety measure, and for the Queen's Silver Jubilee we had a Jubilee Day at the school which was like a huge fete with party, music and loads of games and food. I left Wareside School in 1977 which was the year  of the Silver Jubilee and we all got a mug with a pic of the Queen on and a coin also.
The drama group started about I would guess 25 yrs ago, maybe longer, and the village hall over the road from the house was full of laughter and music and the shingle path which went from the Red Lion across the front of the village hall was tarmaced.

The village has changed so much since I left there 20 years ago. My parents, brother and sister still live there. My brother now has a house in the grounds of
Temperance Hall. My sister Lives at Hillside Cottages overlooking Hogham wood.  My parents moved to formerly named Bakers Mead which they looked up and found originally it was named Glengarrie which affectionatly means 'Home over the Valley', so they changed it back to the original name.

I was baptised in the village church and sang in the choir for many years
and have my grandparents buried there, along with my uncle, Dad's brother.

The village had many pubs years ago including the Cross Keys and the Fox as well as the White Horse and the Chequers.

As for the treacle mines, lol it is a myth. Up from the Red Lion was a small row of houses and a little old lady sold treacle toffee many years ago to passers by and so hence the treacle mine myth of Wareside ...

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