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At some time in the past my wife’s grandparents kept the Queen’s Head. I can remember her grandmother saying how the farmers used to drive their cattle and sheep to the market at Newmarket. The cattle market used to be behind the Waggon and Horses pub in the High Street, Newmarket.
This was done early in the morning. Two or three men would be in front closing gates or standing in gaps in the hedges so as not to let what they were taking to the market escape. If one sheep left the flock, the rest would follow. Not too good if it was into someone’s garden! Although I must say sheep always had a shepherd who had one or two dogs. These kept them moving. I have seen a dog running over the backs of sheep to get them to go where they were supposed to go. Mostly pigs would be taken in a cattle float drawn by a horse.
As this was done early to get to the market and on cold mornings, it didn’t go a miss to have a hot mug of tea with a tot of something in it to warm them up. If they had a good price for the stock, a stop on the way home for a pint or two made the day.
In my time living in Kirtling, the Queen’s Head was the only pub in the village to have bar billiards. The landlord then was Mr George Bixby. He ran the pub with his wife and they kept chickens in the small meadow. When it was closing time, George would stand behind the bar, a half smoked home-made cigarette in his mouth. Placing both thumbs under his trouser braces, he would nod his head towards the door and say “Opp it!”. You knew what he meant, no arguments – drink up and go!
Sometimes in the summer in the meadow, which we called Dan Bridge (now the car park behind the Queen’s Terrace bungalows) would be a travelling fairground run by ‘Stinger’ Wright from Westley Waterless. He would, together with some of his family, work in the harvest fields during the day and run the fairground at night. On Saturday he would open in the afternoon.
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