In 1975 I began working as an English teacher at Old Swinford Hospital School in Stourbridge, West Midlands. I was a real ale fanatic in those days. On my very first evening in Stourbridge, armed with the 1975 Good Beer Guide and a map, I visited two of the listed pubs: The Royal Exchange in Enville Street and The Waterloo in Wollaston. The beers I sampled that evening, Bathams and Simpkiss, were new to me; I was a Southerner well versed in the beers of my native Reading and of Swansea, where Id recently lived, but this was my first time in the West Midlands. Ive written elsewhere about my love of Bathams and, especially, of The Bull and Bladder pub where Bathams is brewed; now I would like to sing the praises of Simpkiss and The Waterloo.
I was reminded of Simpkiss the other day when I posted on Facebook a list of my favourite English bitters along with their insignia. Simpkiss was one of them. The Simpkiss beermat image I found on the internet was very familiar to me; even after 40+ years I can remember those beermats in The Waterloo.
I still possess, lists one pub for Wollaston: The Waterloo. It was a Simpkiss tied house serving bitter and mild. reads: Small corner pub. Interesting decorations in lounge. There are symbols for recorded music and for ‘sandwiches and other snacks.
We teachers used to visit The Waterloo during school lunchtimes. In 1975 and 76, our lunchtime break was a whopping 90 minutes – plenty of time for a pint or three of Simpkiss or Bathams. We – Phil Price, Jeremy and myself - usually travelled in Phils car to either The Royal Exchange (Bathams) or The Longlands Tavern (Bankss) or The Waterloo.
I do not remember the interesting decorations in the lounge – probably because we always sat in the public bar at the front. However, I do remember the tasty beer, the cheese and onion cobs, the juke box and the tasty barmaids.
Lets start with the beer. I never drank the mild because I always prefer a good bitter. Simpkiss bitter was delectable – a low gravity hoppy beer with a unique tang. It was brewed in Brierley Hill and available in 16 tied houses. I drank Simpkiss almost exclusively at
The Waterloo but occasionally sampled it at The Foley Arms (next door to the Brierley Hill brewery), The New Inn, The Leopard in Kingswinford and The Old Plough in Kinver (where at Xmas the landlord allowed us to mull the black Xmas ale with a poker).The landlord of The Waterloo knew how to look after his beer, which was served by hand pump.
The public bar was simple – a typical West Midlands working mans drinking space. The only embellishment was a jukebox on which I played my favourite singles.
As well as the landlord, a unsmiling fellow (whose name, I think, was Gordon), there was his wife – a mature woman with understated sex appeal. And then there was the beauteous barmaid. I think there may have been two barmaids at one time, but only one stands out in my memory. She had a lovely face and figure, and we teachers lusted after her. In those days I was shy; I regret now I did not have the courage to ask her out for a date.
After arriving in Stourbridge in September 1975, I enjoyed drinking Simpkiss continuously until June 1976, when something happened.
One day at The Waterloo I ordered my usual pint of bitter, but the taste was different. It was still a decent pint, but the beautiful unique tang I was so used to was missing. This was not a On subsequent visits, the Simpkiss bitter was not quite the beer Id grown to love. Therefore I decided to write to the brewery.
In those days, letters and telephone calls were the only means I thought a letter to the brewery, expressing my disappointment, might be a good idea. I hardly expected the brewery to reply; they would probably be insulted by a smart alec teacher casting aspersions on their famous beer. I have no copy of the handwritten letter I sent, but I am sure it was polite and skilfully worded.
The reply I received shortly afterwards took my breath away.
