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"Jolly good beer and a drop of fine gin
You'll find all this at the Horse and Groom Inn!"
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So read the advertisement for the Horse & Groom in the Gala Day programme for July 27th 1940. It also stated that it had "a good dugout provided" in the event of and air raid. The proprietor at the time was Alfred P Wilkinson.
The inn was originally known as The Horse & Jockey, and although its name was changed for whatever reason in the early 1820s to The Horse & Groom, the nickname of "The Jockey" stuck and was referred to as such by the locals right up until the mid 1980s when it was renamed "The Olde Victoria".
The table below shows the earliest dates we have for each of the landlords occupying the premises.
| William Miller |
1800 |
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Albert Cook |
1914 |
| Mary Miller |
1841 |
|
Knight |
1931 |
| Sarah Miller |
1849 |
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Alfred Harris |
1936 |
| Jesse Fox |
1891 |
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Alf Wilkinson |
1940 |
| Frederick G Ball |
1906 |
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Many people still remember that Neville Bird, the landlord in the 1960s, kept a fearsome Great Dane which was the dread of every postman, milkman, butcher's boy and newspaper boy unfortunate enough to have to deliver to the premises. The sight of its paws on the top of the six foot gate was sufficient to warrant a revisit at a later time.
During WWII the the upstairs of the Horse & Groom was used by the sargeants of the Inns of Court Regiment as their mess. The arrival of the 8th United States Army Air Force at Grafton Underwood also brought interaction with the Inn as their darts teams competed for the Burton Latimer Good-Fellowship Shield.
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Burton Latimer Good-Fellowship Shield
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USAAF Team
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The 'Jockey' Team
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| Sgt Joseph H Powers, Chicago, Illinois |
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Reginald Baish |
| (Team Captain) |
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(Team Captain) |
| Sgt Edwad J Cuk, Buffalo, New York |
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George Cartwright |
| S/Sgt Jesse L Kopeck, Texas |
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James Austin |
| Sgt E Over, Altona, Pennsylvania |
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Jack Underwood |
| Sgt Verne Holson, Blooming Prairie, Minnesota |
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William Hopkins |
| S/Sgt Frank Wiseman,Spear, N. Carolina |
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Willim Gardner |
| Cpl Raaymond V Szemplenski, Long Island, NY |
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Roland Johnson |
| Cpl Herman G Clemons, Floyd, Virginia |
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Alf Wilkinson ('Mine Host') |
After 1945 the inn also served as a meeting house for the Buffaloes (a philanthropic and charitable society) which sported a darts team known as the "Jockey Buffs". The trapdoor to the cellar was situated in the darts area and games had to be disrupted every time a keg needed to be changed over; however, no-one ever claimed that this was a psychological tactic employed by the Buffs.
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The Jockey Buffs - mid 1940s
Standing: Herbert Wright, Jim Austin, Charles Moorhouse,
? , Percy Ashby. Front: Arthur Irons,? , Aubrey Brown,
Alf Wilkinson (Landlord - also a Buff)
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Charles William Messenger c1955.
For many years Charlie Messenger was a familiar
face at The Horse & Groom. He was a local farm worker.
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Pictured below are the "Jockey Regulars" having fun during a charity fundraising day in about 1950. To see a larger version of this picture together with some of the names, click here.
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The "Jockey Regulars" in fancy dress pictured in the pub yard c1950.
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Left: Present day photograph of
The Olde Victoria, formerly
The Horse & Groom.
Below: The premises in 1910.
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