Blunham Pubs : The Queens Head

• A quiet tranquil scene of The Queens Head in Blunham village square, in the early 1900's - Note the childen's Victorian clothes and adjoining cottages, leading up The Hill and West to the village of Great Barford then Bedford eight miles away. The second cottage up from the Q.H. was occupied by a Mr Ben Sims, a coffin maker, also the Father of Albert Sims, a well known character, and Grandad of Alan Sims. - ( Feb - 2022)
• The Queens Head Beerhouse, now a private dwelling was formely 5, High Street, overlooks the village square and St Edmunds or St James Church, the large corner building opposite was a shop owned by the Judd family. Today a plaque - 'The Ragged Staff' is near the door of the Queens Head , so preserving our village history, as so The Oak, Beerhouse along The High St and the Post Office, halfway up The Hill. - The large wall- sign tells us it was Wells's Bedford Ales & Stout on sale at the time for the land workers. - c1895.

Any history of licensed premises in Blunham is complicated by the fact that there have been Two seperate Pubs / Beerhouses both starting as the Ragged Staff and later The Salutation, so I will keep them seperate to avoid confusion. (and The Salutation Pub)

• This 'Ragged Staff' - was a Beerhouse / Alehouse, the Authorities term. - for the origin see ref 12 via my link - The Beerhouse, within Misc & Mash. - with having no Bar, so you had table service for all your drinks, with an open Coal Fire in the Winter.
• It was probably serving up pints well ‘before’ 1846, but these records were not around to support this. It is interesting to see from my researches of Blunham Pubs, that some tenancies changed hands many times after only short periods, but there were exceptios. Some owners even took the previous name with them on a move, as regards The Salutation being renamed The Old Salutation, trying to attract their regulars to follow.
• Farming - was so labour intensive, and as such, there were many, many land workers so reliant on man power, before the advent of machinery. Most were regular drinkers due to the very nature of their work, using most of the 8 village ’Drinking - Holes’. They picked Brusell Sprouts, or Bruselling, by hand, in the season with freezing conditions. This Beerhouse was formely The Ragged Staff, changing to The Salutation in 1786 and finally The Queens Head from 1847 to c.1926 when it finally called Last Orders Please.

 

RECORD OF LANDLORDS & TENANTS

THE ORIGIN OF A 'RAGGED STAFF'

• The Ragged Staff - a name used by two pubs, led me all the way back to 1268 and the Coat of Arms of the Earls of Warwickshire. It is here we find within the Quarterings of this Coat of Arms, a Bear and a Ragged Staff, (a ragged staff is from the branch of a ‘young’ tree stripped of its leaves). There was no village connection, as I first thought, but a nationwide usage within pub names, such as The Bear, Ragged Staff , Kings Arms, The Crown, The George, Queen Adelaide, The Queens Head, and the George & Dragon, all in common use. - The usage by a Public House to do this, was to show some form of allegiance to the King / Queen. - Most of the Patrons would have served in one of the two World Wars. - * - . @ 04/10/2021

o * . * o

• Answer to 'Cell of Doom' - Ref 15 in 'Misc & Mash' - The question the prisoner deduces is, " will you ask your mate, which door do I walk out of to my Freedom ? " - What ever answer he gets, from 'any' guard, he will Reverse it, so he walks out to certain freedom. . Assume he asks Gd/1 and say he is the truthfull one, he asks Gd/2 (the Liar) he gets a lie and our Gd/1 repeats the reply he got, to our prisoner, who now Reverses it, so walks out. So it must apply in the reverse assumption of guard choice. / Back to Misc and Mash , if Req .

---

Last Revision made by Bill Exley on - 27th Nov -2022

Return to Index Page