The Plough Inn
Blink and you'd miss it! Barkston is a very small village, usually noted for its through traffic from Grantham to Lincoln or the seaside at Skegness. There's not much here for those who are not in the know. The village is situated on the A607, about four miles north of Grantham.
To look at this particular house, little tells you it is of much significance. However, going back to the 1940s, this unremarkable house was a public house known as "The Plough". It was owned by Stan's sister Olga and her husband Bill. Living with them until his death in 1949, was Stan's father A.J.
In 1947, after Laurel and Hardy had appeared at Butlin's camp in Skegness, they stopped off at the Plough to visit Olga and Bill Healey and A.J. This was on a snowy Sunday afternoon, and the Boys stayed quite late before going to Grantham to get a train bound for Edinburgh.
This view looks at the building from a slightly different direction. Of note in this picture is the top left window. This was the window of A.J's bedroom.
Back Yard
Even if you go round the back of the old inn, you would never be able to tell it once contained beer barrels and casks!
Betty and John Cooper
Ok. See if you can follow this : Stan's sister was Olga, and she owned the Plough. Her husband was Bill. Betty and John are Bill's niece and nephew. On the day I visited the Plough, Betty and John had joined members of the Beau Hunks and Hats Off tents to visit Uncle Bill and Aunt Olga's old stomping ground!
A.J.'s Grave
Crossing the A607, and five minutes walk away you will come to St Nicholas' church. Across the road is the Barkston and Syston Cemetary. For many, many years, the graveyard led a quiet existence. Then one day, somebody happened to remember that Stan's Father was buried in Barkston. The grave was found, and the headstone was paid for by Stan's family and members of the Sons of the Desert. The Late Bill Cubin was certainly the driving force behind the new headstone.
You can read Dave Tomlinson's excellent account of the day I visited Barkston on his website :
A Perfect Day Sons Visit Barkston, July 2003
The nearest Sons of the Desert Tent is the Beau Hunks Tent in Nottingham. For more information about the tent, please contact :
192 Melton Road
Stanton on the Wolds
Nottingham
NG12 5BQ