The Crown Inn, Market Street.

A Memory of Oakengates.

On the left of the photo is the Crown. For many years, this was my local. A good combination of beers & ciders, great bar staff (John Ellis, the landlord, Rachel, Mel, Carol, Yvonne & Keith, the last two sadly died in their 40's) & regulars, also frequent live music nights, quizzes, beer festivals & brewery trips made it our 'go to' pub. It was a proper pub, no TV, games machines or jukebox. My favourite tipple was initially Joules Cloud 9 scrumpy cider, later Hook Norton or 'proper' eg Czech, Budweiser.
I worked in local factories, such as Epson & NEC, & if on a late shift would phone an order for beer before the strictly enforced closing time -10.30 or 11 in those days. Luckily, it was downhill all the way from NEC Technologies where I last worked & roundabout closing time myself & pushbike would be parked with 2 or 3 pints lined up.
I was sad to hear recently how many of the staff & regulars had passed on. It seems only a couple of years, but thinking about it it was decades ago. Last century, in fact. Some of the factories I worked in have been bulldozed for housing or schools, many of the other pubs I went to have closed.
The Crown is still going, under the same landlord as in my day.