Dorothy Dwight was licensee of The Ship with her husband Dick from the mid-60s to mid-70s.

She says: "We felt we were just far enough away from the middle of town, and it was a very nice pub to run. It was my first venture but I soon got into it, and I quite enjoyed it. I wanted to turn it into a regulars' pub which in the end I did. It was a pub for the boatyard people. We were there when the last boat came down. The canal clientele changed, it was used more for living in and luxury whereas before it was there so people could earn a living."


"It was dead opposite a youth centre. The landlord before us had put a penny slot on the toilets to stop the youngsters from using it, but my husband took it off straight away. But they used to come round the back. I had quite a job with them. I told them they had to come round the front so I knew where they were and when they had left. We would serve them soft drinks, but we found spirits in the toilets."

Cllr Ray Ghent used the pub when the district council chambers were located nearby. He says: "On occasions after a meeting we would go for a quick drink there. It is very disappointing to see it go. I think it was the right place for a canal basin and an obvious business opportunity, maybe not at the moment but certainly once the area has been refurbished."

Louise Riddiough, Bucks Herald entertainments editor, says: "The Ship Inn was a regular watering hole for many of The Bucks Herald reporters, being a stone's throw from our old Exchange Street offices.
"I remember it as my Aylesbury pub of choice for a night out as well, where you were served by friendly landlord Dave and his wife Angie and teenage son and daughter, and would always see the familiar faces of Ship regulars at weekends enjoying the tunes of DJ Stef and Kris Needs, and having fun nights celebrating Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Occasionally celebrities like author Irvine Welsh or Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream were seen there. It will be sadly missed by many as it was synonymous with the town and leaves behind great memories."

Thanks to local historian Karl Vaughan for supplying the photographs.