Some Bar Stories from The Crown
Mr Flack, a previous publican thought the Inn was at one time a private house, in the days when they had ‘shilling licenses for selling homemade beer’.
A tale is told locally about a Gypsy who not wanting to pay a fee for the release of his donkey from the Village Pound sent his wife to negotiate with the key holder for its release. The venue for these discussions was the Crown Inn, and they were protracted. Meanwhile the gypsy with some strong ropes, hefty men and strong language successfully hoisted Neddy over the walls of the Pound and were half way to Ipswich before discussions broke up.
Local stories claim the row of 3 cottages were sold for £50 over a pint in the Crown, but no date is given.
At the end of the 19th century a number of horsemen, including Frederick Chaplin were arguing as to who had most control of their horses. It was decided to hold a trial on the road. Chaplin sent his horse off up the road ‘as though he were sending hom home without his cad [sic]’ and then he stopped hom with a whistle and another whistle brought him back. Using just his whistle Chaplin then put him through various other manoeuvres.
After the other men had had their turn they they got the horses back into the pub yard and pot them through theri paces there. One man attempted to show how he could back his his horse up to the inch – but it was an inch too far. The horse put his rump through the pub window, it cost him more than a few pints to pay for that. From The Horse in the Furrow by George Ewart Evans {NL 2021}
And of course there are stories of the pub being haunted.
Local Legend claimes that many years ago, over a pint of beer in the Crown, the three cottages (of which the Shop on the Green was nearest the main road) were sold for £50.00 {ECA}
In the 1960s Allan Smethurst, The Singing Postman visited the Crown. He is seen here with Jim Southgate and harry Diaper playing Dominoes (Dommies)
