Didcot, Station Road c1955

Boot Inn 1955, now The Old Boot, a private house

Ceased operation as a pub in 1959. Now (2007) privately occupied by the Beran family. Previous owners were a builder who divided the land, the village schoolmaster, and the Jarvis'. A few relics of its pub days remain with serving hatches still visible and vertical planking in the hallway. The black rectangle to the left of the building was the privy, now gone. The large tree behind has gone but we have a Silver Birch of equal size by the front gate.

The Village of fond childhood memories (1955 )

I would have been three years old back then, living, as we did, at 77 High Street with my grandparents (the Dentons). Harry (my grandfather) used to keep bees and was regularly praised for his beautiful floral front garden. I, my brother (Desmond) and our parents later moved to Frilsham Street. The village is still my most favourite place in the entire world as it encapsulates all my cherished childhood memories. I left the village for work, aged 17, in 1969 but still seem to know it like the back of my hand decades later.

When my family moved to Sutton Courtenay in the 1960s this was the only shop left in the old part of the village. It was a fabulous place with big glass jars of sweets behind the counter, I used to visit here as soon as I received my pocket money! It was run by the Mussells, I think (pronounced 'Muzz-ells'). My sister got a job there on Saturdays. Unfortunately it eventually closed in the early 1980s.