The Great Beer Shortage Panic of 1969

With the canal bridge presently closed for repairs, I am reminded that prior to the establishment of the city of Milton Keynes and its extensive road system, the closure of a bridge was a much more serious matter than it is today for the village. This was very much the case in February of 1969, with concerns raised as to the safety and weight bearing capacity of bridges connecting the village to the wider world. 

The Bucks Standard of Friday, February 28th, 1969, broke the story, with a headline posing the alarming question, was “Linford to be cut off?” Not quite, even a provisional newspaper knew the value of an eye-catching headline (and yes, my own headline is equally as guilty), but as the story elaborates, it was recently imposed weight restrictions on three crucial bridges that was the cause of concern. The matter had then been brought to the attention of Newport Pagnell Rural District Council by Stella Uthwatt, the elected village representative on the council.

Stella was of course the last Uthwatt to hold title to the Manor House and gardens, and by all accounts still a force to be reckoned with in village life. Speaking at the council meeting of Wednesday 26th, Stella had pointed out that lorries over four tonne axle weight were not allowed into the village, and “this means that the whole farming community will come to a standstill and we will have difficulties getting food and beer supplies through.” Dramatically, she added, “The whole village is in great danger.”

The canal bridge in 1969 with four tonne weight limit signs.

The clerk of the council, acknowledging Stella's concerns, explained that the safety of the bridges, and most specifically the main canal bridge (on Marsh Drive) had yet to be established. A letter had gone out to Bucks County Council, and reassurances had been made that the county surveyor had been tasked with resolving matters. Stella then asked if a Bailey Bridge could not be erected as a temporary measure but received a non-committal response.

There was good news in April, with a front-page story in the Bucks Standard of Friday 11th, headlined, “Relief of Great Linford Near – Beer wagon to roll again.”

The story provides a great deal more detail as to the background to the crisis, explaining that it was a decision of the British Waterways Board that had imposed the four-tonne weight limit on the Marsh Drive bridge, while two tonne limits had been imposed on the bridges on the Willen and Woolstone roads. Bucks County Council had then formulated a plan to renovate the Marsh Drive bridge to allow a six-tonne weight limit, the county surveyor Eric Frankland predicting that, “this will allow vehicles such as the fire engine and brewery vehicles into Great Linford and should ease the situation considerably.”

It is not recorded if the villagers felt access to beer or a fire engine was the higher priority, though the article states, “there were fears at one stage that no more supplies of beer would get through to the Nags Head.” However, as explained by the landlord Norman Carter, arrangements had been made that the pub was placed last on the delivery route, so the brewery lorry, by then greatly reduced in weight, could safely negotiate the bridge crossing.

It was inconvenient, leading to late deliveries, so as Norman added, “I and the rest of the village too will be glad to know that the weight limit is to be raised, so we can get back to near normal again. This move will come at a good time too, just before the summer because we will need a lot more beer at the pub which will mean more deliveries.”

But calamity; a happy ending was not so near. The Bucks Standard of May 30th carried the ominous headline, “Relief of Great Linford Delayed.” The problem now was that despite the council having agreed to do the work, the British Waterways Board had yet to grant permission for the work to proceed. Assurances were made that the council would pursue the Waterways Board for the permission, though as the article observed, “It looks as if the village may well have to wait a long time before the bridge is completely reconstructed to take all traffic, and the answer might rest with the new city. One of the early roads suggested in the interim report comes from Bletchley through the new city centre to join the main A422 road with a junction near Great Linford.”

However, the prognosis of a long delay appears to have been premature, as in the July 4th edition of the Bucks Standard, came the welcome news that permission had been granted by British Waterways, and that the clerk of the council had offered the opinion that work would begin shortly. That no further news of delay appears to have been reported, indicates that the work did indeed take place before the close of 1969. Of course, now access to the village is well served by the new city grid road system, but it is fascinating to think that just a few decades ago, the village could, for want of a strong bridge, become so cut-off from the modern world, and a reliable supply of beer.