Tuesday 6 September: THE CROOKED CHIMNEY, near Lemsford (Malcolm Allen, Mike Horsman, Elvis Pile, Andrew Swift, Roger Toms)
COMMENT: This is a big rambling pub with low ceilings (Andrew had to watch out) and endless nooks and crannies. We found a nook or cranny (what's the difference between a nook and a cranny?) with very comfortable armchairs in a corner of the pub; the staff were on the ball, someone found us very quickly, hidden though we were, and the food, once again good and very cheap, came along without delay. It was a very wet day and we had all driven there so I was limited to half a pint which was a pity because the beer seemed to me excellent.
The building was originally a farmhouse called Hornbeam Hall. Use as an inn dates back to 1756 when it was called the Chequers. It remained the Chequers till as recently as 1968 when it was renamed the Crooked Chimney after its distinctive L-shaped brick chimney (though apparently the pub had been known informally by that name for many years). Renaming pubs is not just a modern "Slug and Lettuce" type craze; its been done at all eras for all sorts of reasons. There are more pubs named after Lord Nelson than any other person, but they were mostly not "new builds" but old pubs renamed after his great victory at Trafalger in 1805..
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