We made a trip to our local farm shop this lunch time, we are lucky to have several great farm shops near us…..but this one is special in so much as it is part of The Chatsworth House Estate.
Now you would be excused if you thought our trip was to buy the meat and veg for the weekend…..well we did but that was just the excuse to enjoy ‘meat and two veg’ in the excellent restaurant that is attached to the shop.
Now for the tale.
Like just about all old Stately Homes and big Estates, Chatsworth had there own brewery, in fact they also paid estate workers with a beer ration. The Brewery was at one time located in the stable block some distance from the House. Rather than fill barrels in the brewery then transport them to the house they laid a pipe to connect the brewery with barrels in the cellars of the House. But time goes by and changes are made so the beer pipe was dug up and removed….however for part of its journey to the house the pipe ran through the Dukes Greenhouses. It was here that they found that the gardeners had ‘tapped into’ the pipe and able to sample supplies before it reached the barrels. Proving Gardeners have more than green fingers but crafty ones too!
Well that is what it says on the label of the bottle of Beer that helped my Roast Beef, Yorkshire pudding and vegetables go down.
True or not ….who cares as it was a nice drop of beer!
and it is still brewed on the Estate….but I bet the gardeners are kept well away from the barrels
11th May
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 
Love the story~~Love the lable on the bottle 🙂
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How nice to shop from farm market… I loved it too. Wonderful post, Thank you dear David, with my love, nia
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Yummmmm!
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Hopefully, the Estate now gets more work out of the gardeners!!! Love the vegies and that bottle….
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I am on the side of the gardeners….that is what I call enterprise.
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Aahh, David, you miss the point of my very British sense of humour….having a slight tipple on-the-job every now and then, when it is gardening, is okay by me, as long as the boss is not looking!
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Ithink we both meant the same thing. Free tipple for the gardeners and don’t tell the Duke! Cheers.
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You have so many great posts on your blog, David. Love them. And I wish there were more farmshops and breweries around here. Enjoy! We can only buy some potatoes in the autumn. that way..
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Thank you…..We sometimes forget here just how lucky we are with the Farm Shops that have developed over the years. Some exploit there so called superior product with very superior prices. But most try hard to give a great variety from baked goods, to meat and of course veggies plus wines and beer. Trouble is it doesn’t do muc to keep the waistline slim!!!
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How nice!
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