The Moonrakers
The Moonrakers legend can be interpreted two ways and it takes on
several forms as to time and place.
One version is that a traveller came upon drunken Wiltshire
yokels trying to rake a reflection of the full moon in a village
pond convinced it was a cheese. This one conveys the notion that
Wiltshire men were drunk and stupid.
However, another (true?) version says the legend shows these
yokels to be very clever and that they originated back in the 17th
century in Devizes. A group of smugglers were forced to hide their
loot in a pond, the Crammer, when they were tipped off that the
Revenue men were waiting in ambush. They returned on the night of a
full moon to the Crammer with rakes. This again attracted the
attention of the Revenue men. When asked what they were about they
pretended that they were raking a cheese, the moons reflection,
from the water. No doubt the Revenue men walked away shaking their
heads at the stupidity of the ‘simple’ Wiltshire folk
leaving them to recover their contraband at their
leisure.
This legend has become firmly embedded in the folklore of
Wiltshire and the natives of Wiltshire were known. The name has
spread throughout Wiltshire with pubs, clubs, hotels and even
learned societies named after them.
I recollect hearing of a local after-hours Wiltshire drinking
den being renamed the lofty title The Moonrakers Literary Society
to get around the antiquated English licensing laws of that time.
Thus members could quite legally be served liquor beyond the 2230hr
deadline of those days. I believe that the local police were
forever encountering drunks after a late night at the Literary
Society. A modern take on an old legend shows us again how our
‘simple’ Wiltshire man once again has the last
laugh.
The Venue
The Moonrakers is run by Russell and his family and they serve
high quality meals every day from 1200 till 2100, there is a nice
beer garden where we can meet if the weather is ok, , the pub is
dog and cacher friendly. There are wheelchair ramps into the
lounge, parking in the pub car park and if the car park if full
there is plenty of street parking.
There will be a Christmas Menu available as well as the usual
fine quality fare.
