The Greenfoot Inn

 There are in old books, and logs, reference to the little inn, which sat close by the Church in years gone by. Not much is known of the inn but references are as follows.

 It is within the memory of people still living that an inn was removed, a very pretty country inn, standing picturesquely near the church and mill, an inn to which many of the worthy people retired between the long services of Communion Sunday, and varied the religious services with copious refreshments. But in every great enthusiastic gathering there is an element of the unworthy, and when that element dominated the better the system came to an end. Burns's satire undoubtedly hastened its downfall. Helen Steven Sorn Parish History 1898 Chapter 4

Another story is told of "Cork" Reid, the father of "Blackey." Cork (everyone had a nickname) was fond of a dram and sometimes got a bit breezy. One day he had been refreshing himself, not wisely but too well, and was making his way with rather unsteady steps from the Greenfoot Inn, past the mill-lade toward the manse gate. Mr Balfour had often remonstrated with him about his failing, and just then, to his dismay, he saw the worthy minister approaching. At that moment Cork got particularly unsteady, his foot slipped and he fell into the lade. Mr Balfour took the opportunity of administering a deserved rebuke, but the unabashed Cork, from the midst of the water, was quite equal to the occasion. "Mr Balfour," he cried out, "I've naething mair to dae wi' you. I've jined the Anabaptists and I've jist got dipped."Helen Steven Sorn Parish History 1898 Chapter 8


Photo - John Clark Maddison
The little footbridge which must have come close to the Greenfoot Inn, which sat under the bridge on the left. 

A clip from the book, The Poetic Works of AB Todd, published in 1906, and written by a man in his 80s!.


From the Sorn Parish Magazine June 1907, this interesting reference

Correspondence by Kenny Baird from Royal Ontario Museum, May 2001.
The Museum mentioned in the clipping no longer exists. In 1933 its collections were transferred to the Royal Ontario Museum. David Boyle was a very prominent archaeologist in Toronto and was responsible for much of our existing anthropological collections at the ROM. He was an active collector through the 1890s and early 1900s.
Gerald Killan has published a biography on Boyle entitled: David Boyle: From Artisan to Archaeologist [1983].
Regards Arthur Smith
Librarian
Royal Ontario Museum
See prominent members of the parish

It was in The Greenfoot Inn in 1795 that Sorn Curling Club was formed.

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