Pub Odyssey 29

Tuesday 26 July:  THE BROCKET ARMS, AYOT ST LAWRENCE  (Chris Haden, Elvis Pile, Steve Stott, Roger Toms, John Westwood)

COMMENT:  I missed this one, being with two other Odyssians, Malcolm Allen and Andrew Swift,crossing the Alps by bike from Austria into Italy; but that's another story.  Chris Haden, masterminding Odyssey affairs this week, reported a good lunch and a nice occasion at the Brocket Arms.

The Brocket Arms is a 14th century foundation, making it one of the oldest yet. This means the pub is older than its name because Sir John Brocket, a wealthy spice importer, was a sixteenth century Johnny-come-lately who was Captain of Queen Elizabeth I's personal guard.  Brocket built Brocket Hall (his house subsequently demolished and replaced by the present Brocket Hall) and, as often happened, the pub was named or re-named after the local bigwig.

I mentioned in Pub Odyssey 24 (Cowper Arms Letty Green) that the biggest of all local bigwigs, Lord Palmerston, Prime Minister 1855-8 and 1859-65 actually died at Brocket Hall after an exciting career involving forcing opium on the Chinese and allegedly raping one of Queen Victoria's maids of honour.  Anne took me to task for failing to mention that Lord P, or "Lord Cupid" as he was widely known, did not merely die at Brocket Hall but did so in style, having it away with a chambermaid on the billiard table.  He was not quite 81. Is this what they mean by a long screw at billiards?