We love to hear a good story from ye olde days so we thought we should share some with you...
A short walk from the village centre, The Manor House Inn dates back to the 16th Century. Originally a Coaching Inn and resting place for weary travellers and their horses, the original Coach House is still present and preserved on the site. At the turn of the last Century, The Manor House Inn changed from a Coach House to a Public House in 1902 and was the second pub to serve the village alongside The Carpenter’s Arms, now known as Billy Budds.
This tranquil corner where The Manor House Inn is situated, was the main hub of the village and its walls have plenty of stories to tell listening ears:
One of The Manor’s previous Landlords, Fred Treasure served in the Far East during World War II and had brought back with him a spectacular collection of military cap badges, counting for nearly all the regiments that served in the Far East. They were proudly displayed on the pub walls mounted on green baize frames. This was particularly poignant for the village as it was the destination of many of the young men in North Devon who left their villages to fight for their country – and suffered some of its most bitter warfare against the Japanese. In pride of place behind the bar, was a huge stuffed crocodile’s head Fred has brought home with him from Burma. Fred claimed to have single-handedly shot it in a stream and cut off its head – a story no one could confirm.
A mystery still surrounds the whereabouts of this impressive collection, including the croc, as they disappeared and were never found after the pub changed hands.
Croyde is well known for its natural beauty but it also has a strong farming heritage and a history that dates back prior to the Saxon Period. The name Croyde is presumed to be derived from the Celtic name of the Viking raider, Crydda, which has now been given to the stream that runs through the village. The stream once had a much slower flow and was alive with eels, who loved the muddy bottom sediment and rocks to hide in. It is known amongst the locals that to become the ‘Mayor of Croyde’ you must have to have fallen in the stream by pure accident. Prior to 1921 this hadn’t happened and even though, two young men from the village both crawled on their hands and knees from The Manor to Croyde Bridge (including going under all the bridges along the way) this didn’t count. The most recent Mayor since 1921 was Dave Jones, who was awarded this title and thankfully only escaped with a few cuts a few years back.
The Manor House Inn is located a short distance from St Mary’s Church and was the destination for many of the local villagers on their way home from Sunday service. Well known as a pub for locals, it wasn’t unsurprising that on arrival for a Christening service on a particularly awful weather day, villagers were met with a sign telling them to go The Manor Inn where the Georgeham Village Rector had decided to take over the public bar and where conduct the Christening ceremony. A good time was had by all.
Take a look around the pub where you will find a number of historic photographs of Croyde village, its residents and our lovely pub.