08/12/25 - On the Trail of..... Woodbine Willie

The Fighting Chaplain

A walk inspired by the History West Midlands Podcast. 

This episode is all about Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, AKA Woodbine Willie. Born in Leeds but living most of his life in Worcester, he became famous during WWI, for serving as a Chaplain amongst the ordinary men he befriended by luring them in with cigarettes. A blueprint followed less heroically by certain types of men ever since.

Woodbine Willie was the nickname of the Reverend Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, a charismatic Anglican priest and poet who became a legend of the First World War for his unusual ministry on the front line. Serving as a chaplain with the British Army, he was known for handing out “Woodbines” – cheap cigarettes – along with spiritual comfort, practical help, and a dose of black humour to soldiers in the trenches. His bravery was widely admired; he often ran into no man’s land to aid the wounded and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions. After the war he became a prominent Christian socialist, championing workers’ rights and social reform until his early death in 1929. His memory endures in Worcester, where memorials and local stories preserve the image of a priest who believed faith had to be lived, shared, and carried into the mud with those who needed it most.

Ironically, he died rather young, from lung disease. Bless their little socks, the Worcester population knew no better than to scatter Woodbines on his funeral cortege. When I go, they can shower my coffin in Bathams.

 

From Worcester Cathedral

My work is very nearly already done for the walk. As part of the WWI Centenary celebrations in 2018, a booklet of a walk of the key locations was produced by Worcester Council. Alas, the URL is dead and the Tourist Information Centre could only reply to my query with the kindness that you only get from public sector training.

Too low resolution to be of practical use

From the Podcast, I can pull out some key locations.

I start at the end - his grave in St Johns Cemetery. Not hard to find, he has the grandest grave, flanked by the highest of hedges.

Worcester Remembers

Memorial doesn't photo well, but just about legible

The Podcast talks about a protest march at the plight of returning servicemen that was completed from Pitchcroft to the Guild Hall. Let's hope what it lacked in distance it made up for impact.

At Pitchcroft, there is an information board.

Where Tourist Information are happy to answer questions about old PDF files

In between - The Corn Market has a tiny statue outside a phone repair shop and St Pauls, where he worked, has a blue plaque. Photos inside stopped due to a Mother-and-Toddler session which a solo male rambler would have caused concern. 

Even without fags to hand out.

Quite well celebrated, I would have said

Red Brick St Pauls

Surprisingly, for a man of the people that was known to spread the word in pubs, there is no record any pub particularly associated with the man. The Cardinal's Hat was suggested by AI, but for no other reason than it is close to St Pauls, the oldest in Worcester and he probably went there.

Even that is too dubious for me.

Walk Details

Distance - 2.5 Miles

Geocaches - 0

04/12/25 - The Black Star, Stourport

My Local

A familiar walk from home - inspired by the pages from the book "Worcestershire's Historic Pubs". Sometimes, it's good not to have to wait at bus stops whilst your plumber drives past, winds down his window and hollers "Bus W*nker!" at you.

I'll try not to repeat text on this familiar walk over Burlish Top, Ribbesford and back over Stagborough Hill.

Blackstone Rock, observed from the other side of the river.

Hermit home of the baby rescuer of Bewdley

Ribbesford Church, I've still not completed as much research as this page. There's no need. They have done the work for me. At long last, I have paid attention to the tympanum - a carving above the North door. It shows a hunter, a skinny dog and an unidentified animal, rumoured through folklore to be a duck billed platypus. Not that we have many of those in Worcestershire. I also noted how the original Norman church is much extended, with an extra arcade supporting the roof with oak beams.

Ribbesford Church

Tough to photograph - a hunter, a skinny dog and whatever that is on the right

Space and airiness created by an extension

The trig point at Stagborough Hill logged and recorded in the relevant ticking app.

Views over Ribbesford Woods

See - I told Mrs M I wouldn't get bored in retirement. I'm still finding things to record on very familiar walks. A "busy fool" is what she calls me.

Which brings me on to my local. The Good Beer Guide regular, The Black Star. 

No point creating work. Here is my PubsGalore review;

Ha - my local, so I suppose I ought to review.

The current owners have just celebrated their 10 year anniversary. Its no exaggeration to say they saved the town but doing the basics very well. Exceptionally kept beer that is just about the cheapest I find outside spoons. Butty Bach currently £3.80. Decent food, cobs, pork pies. Live music everyday of the weekend.

There was simply nowhere to go for a decent pint before they took it over. As a result of the "grey pound" coming back out, other pubs have come from the ashes (Swan), upped their game considerably (Hollybush, also in GBG). We even have a micropub and a brewery in town.

The building is actually three terraced together - a front cottage. An old chapel and where the kitchens are, a former school. Decent outside patio.

Now a freehouse, it still has close ties with Wye Valley. All theirs on and usually LocALE breweries such as Ludlow Gold and Fownd from Kidderminster.

Always busy. It shows the demand is there for a well run pub.

Three buildings - the highest, a chapel, the smallest a school.

Let's see what the Historic Pubs of Worcestershire has to say;

Long Live the Local!

Walk Details

Distance - 8 Miles

Geocaches - 0

Walk Inspiration - WikiLoc

02/12/25 - Why Not, Bloxwich

Unloved Canals and Heritage Pubs

I cannot think of Bloxwich without being reminded of a local comedian, Johnny Sorrow. I saw him twice in the early 2010's and was amazed by the man's comic timing. He never went on to any success and AI cannot find any information about him since 2019.

The Internet doesn't totally forget.... Don't talk to me about mirthless big blokes from Bloxwich.

 

After the longest mile per minute railway journey in the world, I am in Bloxwich. Primarily to complete the next walk in my possibly 30 year old "Best Pub Walks in the Black Country book.  Yet, its another book that has piqued my interest. A month ago, I plotted all the Camra Heritage Pubs in the Midlands onto my Google Maps. Handily over adjoining pages, there are three in Bloxwich.

Of course I have ticked the Bull and Bladder

The walk, as anticipated, was a disaster. It looks like the only stretch of the Wyrley and Essington that has been abandoned is in Bloxwich. The book suggests crossing at a bit where the canal bed is dry. On arrival, the stepping stones that provided access have fallen into complete ruin. A high bank of scrub has been built on the opposite side. This is to hide the nefarious activities of scrap metal merchants who seemingly never want the outside world to see what they are up to.

Somehow, I am meant to get over to the dry land in the top left corner

Somehow, I managed to cross. You don't have to. This led to water soaked fields - a main road that even the guide book described as "awful" and the Why Not Inn. 

More bad news - I had checked it was open but rearranged my walking day to a Tuesday. When it opens mid afternoon.

I'll tell you "Why Not" - different opening hours on different days of the week

Quieter lane walking and then a maintained section of the aforementioned canal - with a Towpath.

Plain sailing, from here on in  

Several hours to my meeting about the importance of buildings within local communities (it was free, it was at the 1000 Trades), so lets check out the Bloxwich drinking scene, Heritage or otherwise.

The Spring Cottage has the lights on and the door unlocked. I am 15 minutes early for a 2pm opener but they show that customer service is alive and well and serve me. To be fair, three more people come in before the official opening hours, so they may need to reconsider. No cask, and despite the bar surround, no matured whiskies.

Mappiman declares it open. Other follow

Cruzcampo - ceremonial chalice 

A fine community local - where I was included in conversations and the jokes shared my one gentlemen who was no Johnny Sorrow.

All hail Sir Timbo. In a few years, we will talk about how we could buy perfect cask Christmas Ale in an impressive building and have change from a coin. 

Orkney Brewery Clootie Dumpling for £1.89

The former cinema was named the "Electric Palace". The Showman, a reference to Pat Collins, a member of the local carny.

Onto the Heritage Pubs - The Bell and The Turf Tavern - well dead. Optimistically, the shabbiest of the two - the Turf - has a hand written note in the window saying "temporarily closed". A look through the window and two spider plants on a table are in remarkably good condition. Someone is watering them.

The Bell - possibly salvageable

"the last truly unspoiled terrace pub left in the country". Folkestone's East Cliff Tavern would like a word 

Suggests it was a short term closure

Had been in the Hiscott-Wilkes family since 1871

Closure happened at the start of Covid and despite its listed status, I doubt any of us will see the outside gents, former brewery or pig-sties.

Which leaves us with Romping Cat - a corner local maintaining its original three room layout.

A heraldic lion was on the original sign for the Sandbank Tavern - hence the nickname

I found two of the rooms, and the second lounge bar even had another punter in it. A quiet pub, with no sound from TVs or jukeboxes. The bar person was wearing earphones. All that was needed was a ticking grand-father clock.

And what beer would you expect to find in a West Midlands Heritage pub?...

A excellent pint of Tetleys was probably not the answer you expected.

TV Off. Both punters in the lounge

A strange day - ending where I sign up for the fight to resurrect Birmingham's The Crown from evil Japanese car park owners.

Explorations will continue at haste. There is little time left for pub explorers.

Walk Details

Distance - 7 Miles

Geocaches - 2

Walk Inspiration - Best Walks in the Black Country, Walk 4

01/12/25 - Temple Pub Crawl

Four Pubs - 90 Seconds Apart

YouTube is really rather excellent these days. I read an article on the weekend by someone who had cancelled all other streaming services for a single YouTube subscription.

I haven't quite gone that far - happy to use the adverts to take notes. This pub crawl coming courtesy of the ever entertaining Tweedy - who manages to use a stop watch to take 90 seconds to walk between four pubs, two of which are in the Good Beer Guide.

And some people don't like London.

Armed with things to look out for, I recreate his steps.

The Devereux

The Deveraux

Tweedy has done my research for me - a former coffee house known as the Grecian - and a regular was my name-sake, and some would say look-alike - Sally Mapp. 

Sally Mapp, famously nicknamed “Crazy Sally,” was an 18th‑century bonesetter who became a minor celebrity in London for her fearless and unconventional treatments of dislocations and fractures. Operating out of the Grecian Coffee House in Devereux Court, she treated everyone from ordinary Londoners to upper‑class clients, often performing manipulations in public spaces. She was as flamboyant as she was skilled: she reportedly drove herself around town in a chariot, turning heads wherever she went.

There's a definite resemblance

The pub is nicely comfortable, with a vague Irish theme - presented in the crisps, a nice little partitioned booths for added privacy and stopping pub bloggers from getting material.

Half a London Pride and Taytos

The George

Moments away - with a rear entrance that saves you braving the chaos of Fleet Street - is the George, dating from 1723. I would have missed the fine external carvings if it hadn't have been for Tweedy. I didn't miss the Cask Marque certificate, which needed staff intervention to scan as it was located bar-side.

Carvings in Gold Leaf

I also didn't miss an extensive line up of cask. You've got to laugh at Londoners naming a beer "Headless Cavalier". I'm going to start an export firm dealing in sparklers. That'll fix it.

Goodnight Pete - from Park Brewery - selected

The Cheshire Cheese

No, not that one. One tucked away in Little Essex Street.

1928 - Not ancient

The History

Tweedy Points out the lead glass and Saloon labelling

I am the only punter - and as it's a Shepherd's Neame House - hardly helping to keep the lights on. Shuddering at the thought of early days of the Saxon Shore Way, when I converted to cider, it's a half of Guinness for me.

At least the uncomfortable silence is soon broken by four American tourists bursting through the side door. Taking loads of photos and asking questions about the age of the building, the barman at least has the grace to let them know they need the other Cheshire Cheese.

Maybe this is how they make their money? Picking up the scraps of the unprepared pub tourist.

The Edgar Wallace

At last, I am through the door of this weekday-opening-only Good Beer Guide regular.

Last attempt, a Saturday

So much history

A pub to feel instantly at home in but will leave you with a desire to take up smoking. I'be seen pub paraphernalia before. Usually drinks related but sometimes tobacco. Here, they have even nailed cigarette packets to the walls.

Wall, and ceiling, real estate in short supply

Easily pub of the day - not least, as it has Harvey's Sussex Best on.