We started visiting the Fiddle in 2000. At the time this was being run by ?? and it quickly became our favourite haunt. We were members of a Gilbert and Sullivan Group, putting on shows in Hoylake, Wirral, and after rehearsals we would head back to the Fiddle for refreshment. There was a room there, painted in Red and decorated with Gilbert and Sullivan artwork and posters. It was known as the Red Room and was still referred to as such when it no longer was a red room. It was perfect.
There were various decorations around the pub in keeping with it’s WW2 heritage (which stayed on display after Gideon became the new landlord). It had a wonderful atmosphere without the distracting TV’s, slot machines, quiz nights etc which were so commonplace elsewhere. It was somewhere where you could simply relax, unwind and have a pleasant conversation.
It was somewhere where you could go for a good ‘home cooked’ meal too.
When it closed down, for the first time, awaiting a new landlord there was no real substitute. Although we tried a few other places nowhere was quite the same and for many months we simply stopped going to the pub.
Then one day as we drove past we noticed that something was going on at the Fiddle and we stopped to discover that it was reopening. We spoke to the new landlord. It appeared he hadn’t run a pub before but he had rather a few ideas for bringing it back to life.
And come back to life it did.
The Red Room was still there but this eventually changed from a Gilbert & Sullivan room to something quite different. The Gilbert and Sullivan items were replaced with a wall of plaster character heads making me feel right at home as my father used to collect them. It had also had a fresh coat of white paint. This room was also home to various Royal family souvenirs and collector items. A corner of the room had a various games which you were welcome to get out and play. And on one wall were a variety of World War Two black and white photographs, snapshots of men and women in uniform. What made it special was that each one was the photograph of a Fiddle in th’Bag customer.
What delighted myself and everyone else was the background music which was never too loud and always in keeping with pub’s history. Everything played was almost exclusively from the war years and earlier. It gave the perfect atmosphere to the place.
Over the years the decoration within the Fiddle developed into an assortment of fascinating items of interest. Vintage cameras, stuffed animals, military uniforms, musical instruments, collectors plates, vintage photographs, traditional games, old magazines and books. It was ever changing.
The visitors to the pub would be intrigued by the various items that would come and go. One day an unusual toy, an item from the war or a collection of books or magazines from the past, a collection of letters written during the war years, photo albums etc.
For a period of time we had a world war two air raid siren to sound last orders. Of course it was never fully wound! And an old ships klaxon was used too. This item I provided having found it whilst clearing out some old items from a boat yard.
Indeed, many people donated items too. Such was the love of the place.
The Fiddle also had a connection with the Burtonwood Heritage Centre and various items seen there were donated by the Fiddle. One of these items was a vintage microphone and stand. I borrowed it one time for a production of a play.
With such a collection of potential props it was a great source for assisting with items that we needed for the latest play we were rehearsing . The landlord was incredibly accommodating and willing to help out. In fact I was always asked what play we were doing and if there was anything we were short of. Many a time you would ask for something and there it was behind the bar! There were times when you asked for something and he didn’t happen to have one. I asked if he had a sextant once. He did’nt unfortunately but the next week when we dropped by, there was a sextant on the bar, waiting for me.
The hospitality in the Fiddle was legendary. The landlord know his clientele and would know everyone’s preference.
He know exactly what beer you would like (from an everchanging selection of Real Ales) and you could walk through the door and your drinks would already be waiting for you at the bar.
The Fiddle attracted people from all over the world. The Fiddle had a visitors book and it was fascinating to read the comments. Someone from the USA who made the Fiddle their first visit whenever they came over to the UK. So many people who appreciated the pubs uniqueness and many stating it was the best pub they had ever visited. Almost everyone that they would be back!
When the Fiddle closed so many people felt lost. There was simply no replacement. People who came to the Fiddle week in and week out suddenly had nowhere else to go.
There were walking groups who made the Fiddle a stop off point. A wartime re-enactment group who regularly made the Fiddle a meeting point. Fiddlers, Morris Men, Acting groups, cyclists, horse riders, Vintage car owners etc . A community of regulars had lost an old friend.
Missing the Fiddle I started work on converting the shed into something to remember the Fiddle by. With a small bar, some plaster character heads and a few other items it became ‘The Fiddle in th’ Shed,
But what we really needed was The Fiddle in th’Bag!
