3. Walking Greencroft Street
The Barley Mow
The first building you’ll see on your right is a square-built, two storey structure, originally the Barley Mow Public House. Along with the Greencroft, this was once one of the focal points of life in a lively community. The Barley Mow is one of England’s traditional pub names and this was very much the ‘local’ for the people who lived around here. The Barley Mow thrived from the 1830s to the 1960s. Sadly, it has now gone the way of hundreds of other British pubs – a victim of changing social habits and retail competition.
Ken Edwards remembers an anecdote about the Barley Mow. Listen to his audio clip at the right of the page or on your downloaded MP3 file from the Downloads page.
Clarence Court
Clarence Court used to be the premises of the Salisbury Timber Company, a noisy and quite dangerous hive of activity, where children sometimes sneaked in to forage spare scraps of timber for firewood.
Jan Truckle remembers:
‘Next to the Methodist Church was the Salisbury Timber Company and there was a just a high noise all the time… it was like a whirring noise until they closed at night. And it was just part of our life.’
Steamrollers and Spuds
No. 37 Greencroft Street was the home of Joe Ackerman, driver of Salisbury’s steam road roller. The steam road roller was a prominent machine in the days before tarmacking, when most of the streets were of tightly impacted gravel and needed continual refurbishing.
In 1912, Joe and his wife Fanny had two sons Frank and Albert who lived in Southampton with their young families. They were both stewards on the Atlantic passenger liners. Sadly, they both died with the Titanic’.
At the end of Greencroft Street and the junction of Winchester Street, go to the corner on the left hand side. Do not cross the road. You are now going to explore the top of Winchester Street towards the Ring Road end.
Comments about this page
I have recently found out that my grandparents first lived in 59 Greencroft Street, I think possibly with my grandads parents, I don’t know when they moved to number 44, but it was before 1939 as my sister was born at 44. I am not sure if 59 was where The Salisbury Timber Yard was. I know they lived at 59 when my grandfather re-enlisted in 1915 at the age of 35 having been in the regular army for 12 years some time before that.
My grandmother lived at 44 until her death in about 1973. Her name was Alice Rattue, my mother and her brother and sister, Dorothy, Arthur and Gladys were all born there as was I my 2 sisters and my brother. Next door to her going towards the Greencroft was a Mr & Mrs Hatyor then Mrs Winterman, I can also remember a family called Philpot who may have had a son called Brian and Mr Mrs Dench who had a son called Tony.
My first memory of Greencroft Street is of the southern corner consisting of an enormous hole surrounded by a fence made of corrugated iron sheets, what was here before I never discovered although I was told all sorts of horror stories by the local children. Opposite the hole was what appeared to be a freshly constructed concrete building base, but it looked like the builders had gone home one night and taken all their equipment with them and just left a concrete floor and I seem to remember the bottom of a lift shaft.
The timber company shed I remember well, it was constructed in the manner of a Dutch barn out of black painted wood, the end of the yard next to the Methodist church became The Hillingdon Tyre and Battery Group tyre fitting yard.
The garage on the corner of Salt lane was originally called (I think) the Greencroft Garage but I seem to remember Burlen Services carburettor specialists arriving on the scene. Can I also recall a period of the garage being a Morgan specialist?
The missing Star, The Barley Mow, has everybody got a place in their heart for where they had their first pint of beer (unaccompanied by parents)? I have, and I am sure that the landlord might have had an idea that I was not quite eighteen years of age but I felt grown up if not old.
The oldest house in Greencroft Street, apart perhaps from the Barley Mow, is No. 31, built c.1850. No. 12 opposite, and it’s range , was built in 1860.
The last house on the left is No 8, then a service road with private garages on the left. During and just after the war house No.6 existed and was occupied by the Acton family. In place on Nos 4 and 2 was Acton’s coach building and body repair workshop. They also had another workshop, a large two-storey building on the other side of the road, roughly opposite Nos. 8 & 20.
No 37 – Joe Ackerman. Ken Edwards doesn’t mention that he and his brother and sister were brought up in No 37.
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