With parts dating
back to the 14th Century Ye Olde Chequers Inn is one of the oldest
buildings in Tonbridge and almost certainly the town’s oldest pub. It is a
handsome, and quite imposing, half-timbered building, decorated in a classic
black and white “Tudor Style”, even though it predates that period by a century
or two.
It is situated in
the shadow of Tonbridge Castle, slightly uphill from the bridge over the River
Medway, which is referred to by the town as the “Big Bridge.” With its
attractive exterior and an interior which is full of character (particularly if
you’re a fan of exposed beams), the Chequers ought to be one of the best pubs
in Tonbridge, but unfortunately fails to deliver on several counts.
I might be somewhat
biased in my opinions of the pub, as the truth is I have never been a fan. When
I first came to Tonbridge, initially for work in 1979 and then, five year later
to live as well, I regarded the Chequers as a real “old man” pub, and looking
back I suppose it was. I was in my mid-twenties back then, and would have considered anyone 40 as old, but the pub did have a real old person feel to it.
I remember one
lunchtime, going for a drink in the Chequers with a colleague who was much
older than me. Jim was a regular drinker in the Chequers, as he was in many of
the town's pubs, and on that occasion we got into conversation with someone he
knew who worked as a printer, in Fleet Street. It wasn’t long before this
character confided he was supposed to have been at work, but one of his mates
had clocked him in.
This practice was
apparently commonplace, and I want to come back to this later, because back in
the early 1980’s Tonbridge was regarded as a “print town.” There were still a
couple of large printing firms in the town, along with a major magazine
publisher, and a well-paid workforce, meant plenty of customers for local pubs.
The Chequers was no
exception and trade flourished at lunchtime, with a selection of hot food
always available. It was popular with office workers for the same reason; this
being at a time when lunchtime drinking was far more commonplace than it is
today.
Courage owned the
pub back then, but as I was not a huge fan of Courage beer, I tended to give the place a miss. The Courage connection
came about following a series of takeovers and mergers, as evidenced by some of
the many photos taken over the years. I have seen some showing it as belonging to Maidstone-based
Style & Winch, and prior to that it was a Dartford Brewery house. I'm
pretty certain the pub had two bars, during my first few years in Tonbridge,
but whilst the partitions are long gone, the lengthy, L-shaped bar, does help
create a sense of division into different areas.
I called in at the
Chequers, last Wednesday evening, in order to attend a social gathering of the
Tonbridge-Heusenstamm Friendship Circle - the twin town association I wrote
about earlier in the year. I was a little late in arriving, and I could see the
group sat at a couple of tables at the far end of the bar. I ordered myself a
beer and that's when something odd happened.
There were two cask
ales on that evening, Harvey's Best and St Austell Tribute. I opted for the
Harvey's and was a little bemused when having taken my order, the barmaid
marched to the far corner of the bar, at the opposite end of the pub, where
there was a another set of hand-pulls.
I could see she was
having difficulty pulling my pint, so this did not bode well. She then
disappeared for several minutes, leaving me both high and dry and frustrated at
the same time. Eventually another member of staff appeared (possibly the
landlady), and informed me the barrel was being changed.
I'd realised as
much, and was pleased to be getting a nice fresh pint. From my vantage point
at the opposite end, I watched as a plastic jug's worth of beer was pulled
through, but then watched in horror, as the barmaid reached under the counter
and retrieved the three quarters full pint she'd pulled through earlier and
topped it up.
"Pint of
Harvey's, that will be £3.90 please."
I was rather shell-shocked so without saying a word I handed over the
money, picked up my pint and went and joined the people from the Friendship
Circle. The more I thought about it though, the more I realised I'd been
short-changed. Instead of a nice cool fresh pint of Harvey's, I'd received
three-quarters of a pint of "cask-bottoms," topped up with a small amount of fresh beer.
I sat it out; the
beer was drinkable, but it certainly wasn't the best pint of Harvey's. I scored
it originally at 3.0 NBSS, but knocked it down to 2.5 in view of what I'd just
witnessed. I shan't be going back to the Chequers anytime soon. I only stayed
for the one, as most of the friendship-circle people had started to drift off
by 9.45 pm. Instead, I walked along to Fuggles, where I had much more acceptable and enjoyable pint of
Session IPA from 360 Degrees.
So once again theChequers failed to provide me with an enjoyable drinking experience. I know
times are hard in the licensed trade, but serving up a new customer with an
obviously sub-standard pint is totally unacceptable.
As for the
Friendship Circle meeting, well as with the previous get together, at 63 years
off age, I was the youngest person
there. My presence mean the attendance just scraped into double figures; a
similar situation to my local CAMRA branch socials. I expressed an interest in
going across to Heusentamm to help assist the group with their stall at the
town's Christmas Market, and this tentative offer, was eagerly seized upon by
the organisation's chairman.
That was the sum
total of the meeting, but before finishing I want to get back to the story of
the printers. As mentioned earlier, the
print trade was once an important feature of Tonbridge's commercial life.
Printing though was very much a “closed shop,” and in order to obtain a job “on
the print” you had either to be related to someone already in the trade, or had
to come with a personal recommendation.
The whole industry
was highly unionised, with each branch of the different print unions involved
in the trade, presided over by an all-powerful “father of the chapel.” These
individuals had the power to make or break a company, so they tended to be
treated like royalty by both workers and management alike. That tale of the
absentee print worker, still getting paid, was commonplace, as were stories
of fictitious workers (M. Mouse and S.
Claus?) clocking on, and getting paid.
Much as I detest
Rupert Murdoch, he was the person who finally broke the power of these corrupt
and restrictive unions and dragged the whole printing industry kicking and
screaming into the modern world. Murdoch had deep pockets and could afford to
sit out the many shut-downs and walkouts which resulted from his attempts to
modernise the trade. The introduction of digital printing was probably the
final straw.
Housing developments
now occupy the sites of the three former large printing and publishing
companies in the town. Whilst I have some sympathy for the workers who lost
their jobs as a result of these "sharp practices." I have nothing but contempt for the corrupt and manipulative
shop-stewards and their shady print union bosses, who allowed power and
greed to sow the seeds of their own demise.
4 comments:
"as the barmaid reached under the counter and retrieved the three quarters full pint she'd pulled through earlier and topped it up."
Bloody hell.
I do believe I've been in there, way back in the mid 70's. Can't remember much about it though so obviously it didn't stand out. :)
"I expressed an interest in going across to Heusentamm to help assist the group with their stall at the town's Christmas Market, "
So that would be another trip to Germany? Good on ya. :)
Also, are you thinking of retiring there? I seem to recall that from earlier posts.
"The introduction of digital printing was probably the final straw."
Yep. :)
And it's ironic how the tighter their grip becomes (no matter the trade) the more that tends to slip through the fingers.
Cheers
Hi Russ, sorry for the late reply but I’ve been busy packing and sorting out a host of last minute things for my North American trip.
Did you mean you’ve been in the Chequers in Tonbridge, or were you referring to having experinced a similar incident to mine with regard to the beer?
A visit to the Christmas market at Heusentamm would indeed count as another trip to Germany, but it’s early days yet, and with the run-up to Christmas being such a busy time, there’s a possibility it could clash with something else.
I may have mentioned retiring to Germany, some time ago, but unfortunately a rather foolhardy referendum has got in the way. At the moment, UK pensions are paid direct to UK citizens living elsewhere within the EU, and there are also reciprocal health care arrangements. This could all change thanks to the gaggle of “Little Englanders” who are intent on dumping us out of the world’s largest trading bloc, just to suit their own rather narrow-minded agenda, so who knows at the moment.
And finally to restrictive practices; they have a habit of being counter-productive and often end up hurting the very people whose interests they are supposed to serve. People involved in the print trade found that out the hard way, but there are plenty of other examples.
No worries on late replies Paul at any time mate. :)
I thought that I'd been in the Chequers back in the mid 70s, but it turns out it was the Chequers in Sevenoaks. :)
I've been in the Bullfinch in Riverhead as well. Had lots of family who lived in Sevenoaks back then. Came over to visit in '75 as well as '80/'81.
Good luck with the upcoming trip.
Cheers
I like the Chequers in Sevenoaks. It has a similar outward appearance to its Tonbridge namesake, but isn't quite as old. The beer rang is definitely better though, and there are several nooks and crannies where it's possible to hide yourself away.
The Bullfinch is interesting, as it's one of the few pubs south of the Thames to be owned by Hertfordshire brewers, Mc'Mullens. Not many people rate their beer though; but the same applies to Donnington.
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