By Mark McConville
AT FIRST glance it looks like a normal pub scene but take a second look and you’ll notice this is a pub for kids, which ran during the 1950s.
The stunning retro pictures show children happily going round to their own kid’s bar where eight-year-old Peter Clarke, the landlord’s son, serves soft drinks while the parents are on the stronger stuff next door in the real pub.
Other incredible images show how everything was to scale for the children’s enjoyment as tables, chairs and a slot machine kept them amused while some boys gossip and girls read comic books.
The remarkable photographs were taken at the Bridge House in Bracknell in March 1955 after a new large industrial housing estate was constructed nearby.
Bridge House landlord Jimmy Clarke came up with the idea so that parents could spend an evening at his pub without worrying about their children.
His son Peter dutifully performed the task of landlord for the kid’s bar and took to his task with gusto.
He is pictured giving glasses a final polish, taking customer’s money and using the miniature till with ease.chi
His dad Jimmy obviously taught him well as he can also be see joining in the conversation with some of his patrons as he wipes a glass clean.
