In Roman Britain, Rome encouraged the Saxon ex-legionaries to settle here in the Chilterns Catuvellauni Kingdom. Families were granted land on which to build and remnants of Iron Age hill forts can be seen near Gerrards Cross and West Wycombe. The Romans started a brick and tile kiln industry in this area, which lasted for around 1400 years. Roman power had ended by 410AD and many more settlers came from Northern Europe - mostly German tribes, Angles, Jutes and Saxons. Taking a walk in the footpaths across the road towards Lude Farm you will see remains of tiles in the soil from an old Roman brick kiln. The heavily wooded Chilterns became an area of resistance by Romano-Celtic Britons tribes that were pushed off their lands by these new settlers. The Saxons were huge ale drinkers coming from lands rich in barley. King Alfred of Wessex had a deer park here and the West Saxons brewed ale here on this site because they had a good supply of water from the old Romano-British well in the garden. The Saxon alewife (the brewer was nearly always a woman) would put a green bush up on a pole to let the locals know the ale was ready. The Brewster's cottage became the alehouse because it was used as the meeting house for cottagers and tile-makers in the hamlet, who farmed and worked communally by sharing the open fields and woods. Here they could resolve any disputes, barter and make a toast to the goddess of barley. To drink water until 1900's was to risk your life. Beer was the safest drink -We think it still is!