The Woodman Arms
The deeds for the original Woodman Arms go back to 1834, but it was not named as a "public house" until 1869. The original building (known as The Woodman) was a double-fronted limestone building with three dormer windows in the tiled roof. The name recalls that Deanshanger was a medieval village in the middle of Whittlebury Forest. The Woodman was demolished in the 1930s and replaced in 1934 with another pub bearing the same name. In the early 1990s, this too was demolished. The homes that now occupy the site are known as Woodman's Close.
The original Woodman Arms
In his publication “A History of Deanshanger” which was published in the Wolverton Express in 1947, Major S.F. Markham states: “The woodman belonged to Thomas Benson of Puxley in 1822 and 20 years later it passed to the Canvin’s, who turned the house into a beer house". They also owned The Old White Lion at Wicken.
In the 1851 census, Richard Canvin Jrn., who was the son of Richard Canvin of the Old White Lion in Wicken, is listed as the Beer House Keeper at the Woodman Arms in Deanshanger.
However, in the 1861, 1871 and 1881 Census Records, although Richard is still resident at the Woodman Arms, he is listed as a wheelwright. By the 1891 census, at the age of 69, Richard is listed again as a publican at the Woodman Arms. In September 1891, Richard died and by the 1901 census, Charles Canvin has taken over as the “Beer House Keeper “ at the Woodman Arms.
In 1909, it was announced in the Wolverton Express on Friday 08 October, that Mr. Thomas Osborne, of Buckingham, held a property sale at the Cock Hotel in Stony Stratford. During the auction, seven freehold cottages, known as Woodman's Yard in Deanshanger, with an annual rental of £29 5s, were sold to Mr. Linnegar, of Deanshanger, for the sum of £260. In the 1911 Census Records, Henry James Linnegar is listed as the Beer House Keeper at the Woodman Arms.
The photo Below of the old Woodman Arms was taken in 1911 by Harry Bartholomew who had set up a photography business in Great Linford. It was published in the Wolverton Express in June 1968 with the query “Can you name the people?”. Shortly afterwards, Mrs E Linnegar of 29 High Street, wrote to editor and identified the people in front of the pub in the photo as: The licensee, Henry James Linnegar, his sons, Jack Linnegar aged 10 years and Stanley Frank Linnegar aged 6 weeks (held by a niece), Winifred Linnegar aged 5 years and Mrs Eleanor Linnegar.
In his younger days, Henry had seen army service in the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry and rose to the rank of Colour Seargent (a non-commissioned title in the infantry regiments of the British Army). He moved to Wolverton before the First World War as an instructor to the Wolverton Detachment of the Bucks Territorials and during 1915, he was recalled into the army and served with the 2/1 Bucks Battalion as an instructor.
On 07 July 1916 in the Wolverton Express was the following announcement:
The "new" Woodman Arms.
The Woodman Arms was sold and the Linnegar family moved to the Park Hotel, Swindon.
The original Woodman Arms was demolished in the 1930s and replaced in 1936 with a new brick building bearing the same name.
An article in the Wolverton Express on 4th February 1949, reports an application from William Henry Furniss, the licensee of the Woodman Arms, for a spirit license. In the article, it states that there was no opposition to the application and describes the Woodman Arms as being “the most modern public house in Deanshanger”.
The “new” Woodman Arms became a hub of Deanshanger social life and was frequently used as a venue for wedding receptions, funeral wakes and auctions as well as hosting events including the following: Garden fetes on the pub’s lawn in aid of the Red Cross and St John, British Legion Dinners, Deanshanger Athletic Football Club events, Deanshanger & Old Stratford Angling Association Meetings, pigeon racing presentations, Allotment Holders Annual Supper and more.
Below are some of the ads in the local newspaper from 1957 to 1973.
Wolverton Express - Friday 25 October 1957
Wolverton Express 28th May 1971
Wolverton and MK Express – 3rd August 1973
In the early 1990’s, the site was sold with permission for 8 dwellings on the site. The land was cleared for development and the “new” Woodman Arms was demolished.
The photos above show land being cleared and the commencement of building work in the Woodman Arms Yard, where originally the 7 cottages had stood.
By 1995, the new homes were built and it was eventually to become a development of 14 houses and called Woodmans Close.