THE INN TRADITION

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 135, 4 December 1929, Page 19

THE INN TRADITION

HISTORY MAKING PLACES

WHERE MEN MEET AND TALK

Among many of the famous old inns of England I have- spent much pleasant time, and obtained'muciihappy instruction, , writefci AvLß.i'^m' „tho 'fAge.'"-"--By ahjnn one.'niiisj be understood 'to mean .a'-Tendezyous characterised by gi:otesqle":.oa'k beams, whitewashed walls, •-deep iron-girded fireplaces, complete with cosy, high-back-led chairs; a congregation of genuine .English foll?s,;. such "as may actually be. met outside London; a' jolly host, whose I buxom wife:vaird - family- wait diligently upon tho,.iew;. -jjussts-W^ quiet place, devoid .-of Husky; barmaids and bawling . droppers-'in.' ;' ■'Tis - a place where one does: not g0..: primarily to. get drunk or gulp liquor,:.but rather-, to grow mellow, and- sip thoughtfully. ■• And in such a, place as I have described has much history been made. Indeed, I haye yet to encounter tho mellowed inn of England where '."some sort of "history" has riot~been made. j _ When Mr.-Hendersoa, Britain's Foreign Minister, and Mr. "Douvgalovsky, the Russian emissary, met recently in the tiny private parlour of the White Heart at Lewes, they made the most recent inn history.- I imagine such a setting ideal for the •'dynamic purpose ' —the initial ■oyertui'e'in1 the fulfilment of-a party pledge of:international imr port. Uninterrupted for hours, save for an occasional potation and some well-cooked English fare, the negotiators discussed freely matters which too frequently ..cannot be freely discussed amidst the .awful magnificence of scintillating chambers. This tiny fishing village of Lewes is truly a bonny place, and bluff, forceful Cobbett wrote rightly when he mentioned that it was characterised by "clean windows and pretty faces." But doubtless those characteristics did not constitute the raison d'etre for the historic diplomatic meeting. Lord Rosebery, in that great Chesjterfield speech of 1901, declared-that some of the greatest places, the greatest settlements in the world's history, have begun with an apparently casual meeting of two travellers in a neutral inn,'?. Then the statesman was ploughing his lonely furrow," but he had the example of Kitchener and Marehand at Eashoda three years previously to stimulate the good thought: History coldly records that Rosebery's conjecture was right, for the astute Kitchener brought his diplomacy into admirable play yet again. When Earl Godwin returned from Denmark tho countess met her husband at the Fountain Inn, Canterbury Later, there the four knights as^ sembled, and planned the murder of Becket. What diversities under one roof!

It is recorded that George IV. whilst a_ rollicking Prince of Wales used to discuss State matters of high import in a West Smithfield inn. On one occasion, however, matters of State gave place to another sort of. game of chance, arid the heir apparent ran out of cash. On asking mine host to loan him some money,.th« -shrewd.landlord readily ac-peded-^-pn eonditioH'.that some sccutity . was. deposited) •. whereupon the Prince handed over his "watch, which the landlord accepted, and promptly advanced the cash. The Prince further improved the occasion by granting the landlord a pawnbroker's licence. To this day tho inn (now merely a "public house") has the pawnbroker's sign ...over the main ontranee. ... ;:. . ■_■ ..•.•_•..'.

Bristol is a city where the old inns "are 'niade" fragrant "by" "'' tradition Js blooms. It is said that it was at the "Star" that Defoe met Alexander Selkirk, and the story of his strange adventure was the foundation for "Robinson Crusoe." At the Rummer Inn Clio oratorical Burke issued his election manifesto, and at yet; another inn Stevenson 's hero met John Silver.

Maybe innsi are convention places, but it is a conunqntary ,on tho raco that, such conventions ara^used so unconventionally. ■'' ;:' ■'" ''