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.
Click to view old maps of the area
