The Crown Inn, Church Enstone
Free House

    * Hook Norton Generation £1.80
    * Ginger Ale £1.00 (15.v.1999)

It's set back from the road on the lane up to the magnificent pre-Norman 
St Kenelm's church. St Kenelm was the son of King Kenulf of these parts, 
and became a saint after being martyred.

It's a hotel and restaurant and when we turned up at 11 in the morning on 
a Saturday, was oddly devoid of staff. We could hear cooking and distant 
radio in the kitchen. After about quarter of an hour, a woman came down 
the stair. Did she know whether there was anyone serving? Brick with the 
top dimple (frog) full of matches on top of the bar. Cigars on sale 
behind.

Sue would be down in a minute. Eventually a man in chef's costume emerged 
from the kitchen and served us Hook Norton Generation with the sparkler 
off. Not bad. At about this stage the background Radio 1 turned into a 
Sting album.

It's the sort of place that should have a really good dog. Certainly there 
was an ancient white whiskered cat swanning about outside. (15.v.1999)

Owen Massey writes:
K. E. Kirk's "Church dedications of the Oxford diocese" (Clarendon Press, 
1946) reveals that there are exactly two St Kenelm's Churches in Oxon, at 
Enstone and Minster Lovell. He describes it as a rare dedication, with 
"five or six" such churches in Gloucester, Worcester and Dorset. 
(24.v.1999)