TIME is called at the Red Lion at Yarnton with a bell, a relic from HMS Yarnton, a Royal Navy patrol ship and former minesweeper.

It was presented to the pub in 1985 when the ship was withdrawn from service after 30 years on the high seas.

A friendship between seamen and villagers had been established in the early 1960s when regular Eric Westell wrote to the ship’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Alan West.

Mr Westell wrote: “Our operational base is the Red Lion pub and our captain is Des Fuller, who has a very capable first lieutenant called Liz.”

The crew kept in close contact with the regulars, sending photographs and newspaper cuttings of their voyages and exchanging letters. Some of the seamen dropped in to enjoy a beer or two.

When the ship was decommissioned, Yarnton Parish Council asked if it could have the bell to hang in the pub, to maintain the link between ship and shore.

The pub has been closed for six weeks for refurbishment and now it has reopened, the bell will still be used to call time.

What’s more, the new licensees, Chrissie Jones and her partner, Alastaire Rosie, are hoping to change the name of the pub to the Yarnton Bell.

The pub is the second with the name Red Lion in the village – the old one, a building with a thatched roof which rose steeply from a few yards off the ground, was a stone’s throw from the new building.

It was said to be haunted, but the ghost apparently didn’t transfer to the new pub.

According to Joan Roe, in a booklet called Bygone Yarnton, published in 1989, the one-time landlord, Stivie Putt, not only ran the pub but worked as the village carrier.

She wrote: “He could be relied on to bring back anything from Oxford for a charge of twopence – from a yard of elastic to a pair of knickers.

“He also collected coal from Kidlington station, then drove his cart round the village, weighing it on scales and selling it for two shillings a hundredweight.

“A room at the back of the pub was called the Dance Room and was used for parties.

“Above it was another room where the Pig Club met and had their annual supper.

“Practically every cottage had a pig or two in the back garden so that when pig killing time came round, everyone lived exceedingly well. Not a scrap of meat was wasted.

“Those unfortunates unable to keep pigs were usually given a joint of pig meat, or at least the chitterlings.”

Another tradition at the old Red Lion was carol singing to raise money for the village church.

The booklet recalls: “We sang lustily outside the door, by the light of a swaying lantern suspended on a stick held by Albert Green as best he could.

“The door was opened and we peeped in. The tiny low ceilinged room was full of smoke and through the haze, the local lads pressed us to come in.

“Because of the children, we regretfully declined, so the collecting box was taken in and passed round with excellent results.”

Regulars also had their way of keeping their beer at the right temperature on cold nights – a poker was kept by the bar fire and when it was red hot, it was plunged into the beer mugs. Ms Jones and Mr Rosie plan to dedicate a wall in the pub to its history. Have readers and regulars any further memories to add?