The pub that never shut

Story: Marion Graham

My earliest memories of the Hallcar are from the 1940’s when I was about 6 or 7 years old, not that I was in the pub you understand but the building stood on the corner of Carwood Terrace where my Grandmother lived and we passed it every time we went to her house. It was obviously very much the ‘local’ of the area and a meeting place for many of the men – in those days not many women went into pubs except on special occasions like weddings, funerals and Christmas.

My main recollections come from Boxing Days when everyone from my mother’s side of the family visited my Nan. It was obligatory, no excuses were accepted. We had a huge gathering in her little terraced house. There was always lots of food for tea and afterwards the adults would go off to the Hallcar which was right next to my Nan’s yard. One of the older children looked after the younger ones, no babysitters in those days. We played games like Ludo or snakes and ladders or tried to tap out tunes on the upright piano which stood in the ‘front room’. Every hour or so, one of the adults would pop back to see if we were all ok and usually brought us a packet of crisps (Smiths crisps with salt in a little blue paper twist) and maybe some lemonade.

As the evening developed towards 10pm, when all the pubs closed, some of the younger children would fall asleep and be carried upstairs. The older children would be allowed to stay up and there would be heaps of roast pork and stuffing sandwiches with pickled onions. Late into the night there would be a rowdy sing song around the piano and my Dad would play the accordion. No ASBOs were ever involved, no complaints from the neighbours because they would all be there, joining in. Finally everyone would either drift off home or fall asleep in chairs. We used to live in Norwood and we would leave at the crack of dawn so my Dad would be home in time for his breakfast.

So this was our yearly ritual with the Hallcar, which we kept up until the 1970s when the old houses were demolished to make way for the new estate. Well done the Hallcar, still standing 40 years later , if the walls could talk, what tales they would tell.