Poppy's parlour

Does anyone remember Poppy's parlour, It was down the black pad opposite the Bull and Anchor in Ash Green Lane. Just past Ryton's farm. I spend many an hour as a kid playing by the brook trying to catch sticklebacks.I am curious to find out how it got it's name.

JMN43 I also used to catch sticklebacks in the brook under the bridge which I think was in Woodshires Road just down from the Bone Mill. I have never approached it from the pad but I would think we are talking about the same area. There was a bakery in St Lawrence Road who had a horse drawn cart, I remember they kept the horse in a field by the bridge. Perhaps Poppy was the name of the horse. Alan H

Think we got newts as well as sticklebacks. I remember scrumping apples and a guy was sat in a hedge waiting for us when we came up the hill. We were scared to death and ran like the clappers. Where is Poppys parlour now in relation to the Ricoh development and are there any pics of the Bull and Anchor. One of my dad's old haunts as well as the Hare and Hounds and the Bantam of course Rich Moulson

I used to walk from Woodshires Lane/Wilson's Lane across the fields, across the river & stream, past the farm and up the path to come out opposite the Bull & Anchor. There were stone loaches & bullheads in the stream I remember. I have attached a few photos. The first is a map of 1887 which shows the farm listed as Barratts Farm. It was still named thus on the 1940's map. Burbages Lane was Tomlin's Lane, St Giles Road was Dead Lane & Blackberry Lane was Rookery Lane. The photos (taken in March 2013) show the view down the pad from Wheelwright Lane (opposite the pub) and the others show the demise of the farm. There is an interesting row of trees shown in last photo. The walk still exists by the way although the route is slightly different. You start on Rowley's Green Road just by Bassford Brook Bridge and then cross the fields via a couple of stiles before following the A444 bypass (Phoenix Way) outbound for a while then going under the bypass through a culvert before returning back along other side of bypass to reach the old path near the farm

Brilliant. Thanks. I have plainly lost my bearings as I left Cov in 1964 when my dad died. Didn't realise it came out at the Bull and Anchor. I actually went to Wheelwright Lane School until they realised that was outside the city boundary and I had to transfer to Parkgate.