Jump to content

Haychatter


dunsbyowl1867

Recommended Posts

On 27/01/2016 at 8:00 PM, theimposter1979 said:

Hi,

If anyone has any further memories to share of The Haychatter or any pictures they could share of this pub I'd be grateful as part of a project I am undertaking. Im also happy to receive by e-mail sheffieldpubs@outlook.com

Thanks

Just had a day in Sheffield, talking with Mum (84).  She and Dad used to go to the Haychatter regularly in the 1950s.  Quite a trip from Wincobank.  The landlady was Mary, she thinks.  The opening hours weren't full as a normal pub, but mostly weekends and later on in the evenings for the farmworkers.  The landlady was not very good with money and used to get mixed up giving change.  It was fairly routine to get charged for a half when she'd given you a pint.

There was a piano, and when it the pub was busy, and the piano playing was upsetting Mary's arithmetic, she would go across and slam the lid down on the player's fingers, shouting at them "Yer maddlin' me, shurrup!"

On one occasion, after a pleasant winter's evening in there, Mum and Dad got most of the way back to Wincobank, when Dad says "This isn't our car!"  Mum says " What do you mean, of course it is?".  Dad: "Ours doesn't have a clock - this one does!"  They had to go all the way back and swap it, and left wondering if the owner would be baffled with it starting so well, with it still being warm.

And one hot summer day, parents and friends decided to have a jug of Pimms.  Mary supplied just a jug half full of Pimms liqueur and a bottle of lemonade.  When Dad complained that a Pimms had lots of fruit in it, Mary's answer was "Not here it doesn't!"

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have very many happy memories as a young kid, of sitting on a bench outside the Haychatters on a Sunday morning, while my dad had a pint or two with his pals inside.

I can remember in the early days the pub still had the Reservoir Inn sign up on the front and I think was extended into an adjacent barn at some point.

In the summer the sound of Yellowhammers and Cuckoos would blend with the whirring sounds of farm machinery coming across the valley. I always thought of this sound as the "Haychattering"

Every time a round was bought inside the bar, another bottle of Vimto and a packet of crisps or box of Paynes Poppets would be brought out to me by one of the company inside.

I can remember when the un-offical name of the Haychatters was painted up outside instead of the Reservoir Inn.

Sometime in the 1970's a chap called Siddall who used to keep a beer-off on Hunter Road, Hillsborough, took over the tenancy. Unfortunately he died and his widow took over.

When she retired, I believe the family gave up the licence and the building reverted to a private house.

In the episode of Last Of The Summer Wine entitled "According to the Prophet Bickerdyke", the pub is featured in a scene where the daft foursome are down on the pub floor feeling if the Earth is catching fire. Mrs Siddall is pictured looking over the bar in amazement.

Happy Days.:)

HD

Link to comment
Share on other sites

These days a child sitting outside on their own would be considered ,by some,as child neglect. I remember young children being left outside the main door of Pubs in Attercliffe whilst Mum and Dad drank inside...sometimes for hours.

Only ever called in the Haychatter the once whilst walking,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, lysander said:

These days a child sitting outside on their own would be considered ,by some,as child neglect. I remember young children being left outside the main door of Pubs in Attercliffe whilst Mum and Dad drank inside...sometimes for hours.

Only ever called in the Haychatter the once whilst walking,

They were very different times in the early nineteen fifties.

As far as I was concerned being treated to about to about 4 bottles of Vimto, crisps and chocolate covered peanuts was a rare treat. In those days the pub didn't open till noon and we had to allow enough time to walk down Annet Lane, catch the bus down to Malin Bridge, and be in time to eat the Yorkshires when they came out of the oven at 2.30 pm.

My father would be sat on the other side of the window to me and I certainly never felt that I was being neglected.

In those days young lads would wander for miles on their own or with a pal and I don't recall any of us coming to grief. All that was needed were a couple of dripping doorsteps and a Tizer bottle filled with tap water to keep you going from breakfast time to tea time.

By the time I was about ten years old I knew every nook and cranny of the Rivelin & Loxley Valleys as far out as Strines. I recall being stuck under a overhanging crag at Gibralter Rocks, Bradfield, for about 3 hours with a school mate whilst the biggest thunder storm I've ever seen raged about our ears.

I realise that in these troubled times, such freedoms are denied today's kids but I can't help feeling that they are the losers.

Elf & Safety would have had kittens at the sight of young lads racing each other to reach the tops of adjacent 40 feet trees in Glen Howe Park. You only had to fall out of one tree to learn what was and what wasn't an acceptable risk. And before you ask, two broken wrists and a broken leg.

HD

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...