OUR HISTORY

Key Moments in the History of The Two Brewers 

Source: The Two Brewers Inn Olney High Street - Heritage Trail (Updated April 2023)

 

The Two Brewers Inn spent most of its life as two separate properties. A closer look at the ground floor reveals an archway between the two front entrances to the building. The centre of the arch now houses the bar area.

 

Until the early 1950s the larger property on the north side accommodated the Mechanics Institute and the Conservative Club. The smaller building on the south side was The Two Brewers Inn (formerly the Queen's Head)

 

In earlier times the archway between them was the primary route for the fire engine to reach the High Street from the Fire Station situated at the rear of the property. After the siren had sounded, summoning the firemen to the station, it must have been exciting to watch the horse drawn fire engine, with its bell frantically ringing, emerge from the narrow archway into the High Street. 

 

During WW2 on the night of 28th October 1940, a German bomber dropped a large bomb (or bombs) in the meadow on the Clifton Reynes side of the River Ouse adjacent to the railway line. Maybe they were intended for the railway bridge which they missed by a couple of hundred metres. 

However, the resulting blast was so severe that, having progressed towards Olney and up The Two Brewers rear yard, it funnelled through the archway and completely blew out two large windows of the shop on the other side of the High Street, then called 'Linco stores'. 

 

This bombing incident is confirmed by Bucks County Council's 'Bombs over Bucks' website, which reports that 69 properties were damaged that night in Olney and Clifton Reynes.

 

In the 1950s, when The Two Brewers took in the whole building, it developed into a very popular pub under the tenancy of Bob and Ida Ford. When Bob and Ida retired in the 1970s, Jack Dreuce acquired the tenancy. Again the pub prospered and continued to be the most popular pub in town. Jack retired in the 1990s and the business has continued to be successful to the present day.

 

Incidentally, according to Olney Devil Law, the last appearance of the Devil in Olney was at The Two Brewers Inn!