The Boat Boy

Growing up with grandmother who ran the Three Pigeons pub opened up a new world for a young child who never lost his love of narrowboats and their working crews on the busy canals.

- Roger Wickson

The hundreds of people who travel to Oxford must all pass through The Pigeons Lock yet very few will have any idea why it is so called.

In books, canal handbooks and on maps it is often misspelt as Pigeon’s Lock or even Pidgeons Lock. But the clue to the name lies in the rather grand house opposite the lock now almost completely hidden by a tall hedge.

It was not always known as Pigeons Lock. Not far away is an ancient mill that was mentioned in Domesday Book. Towards the end of the 17th century it became known as Flights Mill. At the beginning of the 19th century the mill was owned by William Ensor and the recently built lock nearby became known as Ensor’s Mill Lock.

Later in the century, an ale house was built opposite the lock to serve the canal called The Three Pigeons and in 1912 it was replaced by a bigger inn a little nearer the lock which became named after it. That old canal pub is now a country house valued at over £900,000.

In 1926, my grandmother, Lilian Wickson, took over The Three Pigeons from her parents, Sophia and Gerry Keys. Sophia had been born on a narrow boat. Her maiden name was Grantham, a name shared by many boating families, although Sophia did not remain on the boats.

Until the mid-50s when my grandmother moved into Kirtlington, The Pigeons was always my favourite place to visit. Little did I realise what demanding work it was for my grandmother to run the pub. It was very much an ale house for the boat people, canal workers and local farm labourers. There was a stable next to it with stalls for the boat horses.