Kay's grandmother used to work near The Wheatsheaf pub

We’ve been delighted to receive plenty of positive feedback and last week’s spread on former watering holes in the Harwich and Dovercourt area struck a chord with Kay Sharpe.

Seeing our photo of The Wheatsheaf, in Little Bromley, brought back memories of her grandmother, Nell Turner, who lived at Goose Green, Wix.

Mrs Sharpe said: “From the 1930s to the 70s, my grandmother worked for Edgar and Nancy Cooper at Mulleys Farm, in Little Bromley, and she would tell a tale of working in the field near The Wheatsheaf.

“When it was time to have their midday break, Nell was chosen by her fellow workers to trudge across the field to the pub with the order for drinks, as was their habit.

“She said that on reaching the door one day the landlord bellowed at her ‘you’re not coming in here with those boots on’.

“She was most indignant as she had had no intention of going across the threshold with muddy working boots on.

“In any case, she thought the landlord should be grateful for their custom and never forgot his rudeness.”

Such characters - this photo was taken outside The Waggon pub, in Wix, prior to 1948. The bearded man (second from the right) is Alfred Gilbert, of Rose Cottage, Goose Green, Wix. He was the stepfather of Mrs Sharpe’s grandmother’s first husband, William Ainger. William and his sister Ivy died of tuberculosis in the early 1930s

Mrs Sharpe also enjoyed our photo of The Lord Nelson, at Ramsey, and said it reminded her of her great-grandfather, Nell’s father, Alfred Button.

Mr Button lived at Peakfield Cottage, in Ray Lane, Ramsey, until the 1970s.

“After work, it was quite usual for him to stop off for a pint or two at The Lord Nelson or The Castle, in Ramsey Street.

“He’d then return home rather the worse for wear.

“His wife, Margaret, and the children knew to keep out of his way on these occasions.

“However, on Christmas Eve, he didn’t only stop at the pub but also at the shop where he would buy ‘three farthings’ of fancies’ for the family’s Christmas treat.

“I wish I knew what these ‘fancies’ were.”

Family connection - Rose Cottage, in Goose Green, Wix. This is where Mrs Sharpe’s grandparents, Billy and Nell Turner, lived from the 1930s until 1985. According to her grandparents, the cottage was formerly an inn called The Donkey and Buskins and it was situated on the main Harwich to London road. Mrs Sharpe remembers that an 18th Century coin had been nailed to one of the oak beams supporting the ceiling in one of the downstairs rooms. The cottage stood in half an acre and when she was a child, in the far corner near the road, you could still see the shape of the building which was the blacksmith’s forge. He would have been busy shoeing the horses so people could continue their journey

Mrs Sharpe has another connection with north Essex pubs.

Her father’s mother, Ivy Vincent, later Dawson, was born in 1904, and, she believes, left school at the age of 14 or so to live and work with an aunt who ran The Swan pub in Brook Street, Manningtree.

She said: “The hours were long and she worked very hard.

“She said the work was disgusting and that the very worst thing she had to do was to clean out the spittoons. Can you imagine?

“The building is still standing - it was used as a restaurant but I’m not sure whether it’s used commercially or as a house now.”

Rich history - The Lord Nelson, at Ramsey, was listed as an alehouse in 1814. It is now a private house

Gone but not forgotten - this picture is of The Wheatsheaf, in Little Bromley, and was listed as a beer house in 1894. It is now a private house

Snapshot into the past - Alfred Button, taken at Rose Cottage in the late 1960s when he was in his 90s

Looking back - Kay Sharpe

Workforce - on the left is Nell Turner, taken in the late 1950s or early 1960s, when she was working at Mulleys Farm, in Little Bromley

Home, sweet home - Peakfield Cottage, in Ramsey, which was the home of Alfred Button in the 1950s

Home territory - Mrs Sharpe’s grandfather, Billy Turner, outside Rose Cottage, formerly The Donkey and Buskins

READ MORE:

• Gone but not forgotten - former pubs that were once so popular by the coast
• Plaque confirms rich history of pub damaged during Second World War
• More once popular but long-gone pubs from the coast - how many do you remember?