Past watering holes (4)

Wingerworth, near Chesterfield, was once a sleepy village.  In the 1960s three large housing estates were built, along with a parade of shops.  For many years the only pub in the village was the Barley Mow.

The pub was crowded in the evenings and weekends, a bit cliquey, but friendly enough.  The landlord in the 1970s was a stickler for keeping to licensed hours.  Absolutely no chance of a drink after 10.30PM.  Eventually a second pub was built in the village, opening in the 1990s.  One day a woman came down the path to my house carrying a clipboard and informed me that I had to sign the petition she had on the clipboard.  The petition was to oppose the new pub.  She seemed somewhat put out when I refused to sign and even more so when I informed her that I was the Founder of the Wingerworth Drinking Society and would be initiating a rival petition is support of the proposed pub.  She demanded more information about the Society.  'When was it formed?'.  'When I saw you coming down my path' I replied.

Sometimes I would escape the overcrowding by jumping into the car and visiting the Hunloke Arms.

Never a busy pub in the 1970s the Hunloke  is on the A61. The disadvantage of the pub is that the car park is opposite a lay-by frequented often by police cars. There was a risk of being pulled over and being delayed by a breath test, even if under the drink-drive limit.