The Myths and Legends of Britain's Pubs: East of England

Rodney Simmonds' The Myths and Legends of Britain's Pubs: East of England ticks all my personal boxes, so to speak.

The sub-title of the book is "A Thousand Years of History and Trivia/"

Pubs, architecture, ales, history and myths. What more could a person want?

Let's begin this review with a few questions. What do you know about your local? Or the other pubs in your town or district?

Who decided on the name? What is the history of the name? Has the name of that particular pub ever changed? How old is the pub?

What's the pub's history? Is it haunted? And if it is haunted, what kind of ghosts inhabit it? Friendly ghosts or ghosts who are angry and unable to move on?

This  book is, literally, an A to Y of pubs throughout the East of England in 206 pages.

There's the Jolly Woodman in Burnham Beeches, in Buckinghamshire. First opened in 1832, it's starred in several films and TV series over the years.

In Luton, Bedfordshire, you'll find the English Rose public house. Opened in 1845 it was originally called the Rabbit. If you read the book you'll learn why. A piece of trivia regarding this pub is that the son of the then landlord married actress Diana Dors.

In the 1700s in Brigg, North Lincolnshire you'll learn about the Yarborough Hunt public house. It was originally constructed for the Earls of Yarborough who own an estate not too far away.

Previously a brewery tap for Sergeant's Brewery, which, sadly, was closed in 1967, the pub continued trading for a number of years under the ownership of several breweries.

For those interested in ghostly residents you will be interested in the Nutshell, otherwise known as the Traverse in Bury St Edmunds. Not only is it one of the smallest pubs in England, it is also reputedly haunted by a young boy. It's said he was murdered in one of the bedrooms of the premises. But for some reason he appears mainly in the area of the bar.

There's also another ghost, that of a monk who wears a long black habit. He also wears a large wooden cross. Sometimes, even when there is nobody wearing perfume in the pub, the scent of a woman's perfume can be detected.

It's a wonderful book and is very well researched and extremely well-written. And I would recommend buying this book either for yourself or as a gift for a friend or family member. However, the book does have a curious omission: There is not one illustration or photograph in the entire book.

It's published by The Book Guild at £9.99.