Last
Thursday evening’s pub crawl of
north Tonbridge, was
really a wander around a few pubs at the north end of the
High Street, and just
beyond. This is because with the exception of the
Royal Oak, in
Shipbourne Road, there are no pubs remaining in the
northern part of the town.
This is very strange, given that in terms of houses, this is
area is one of the most densely populated parts of Tonbridge, with several
large housing developments. These estates are all post war developments, and
whilst at first, they were served by a several purpose-built, modern pubs, over
the past 30 years, these amenities became prime targets for speculative
developers.
Their prominent positions on busy junctions and street
corners, unfortunately left pubs such as the
Pinnacles, the
Greyhound, the
Red
House, and the
Harvester as sites ripe for further development, or conversion
to other uses. The
Harvester is now a
Sainsbury’s Local, which means from the
outside at least, it still looks like a pub. The other three former licensed
premises have vanished from the face of the earth, to be replaced by upmarket townhouses
and apartments.
The idea of the evening was to visit some of the pubs that
West Kent CAMRA never seems to get round to, so I was a little puzzled to find
ourselves starting at the
George & Dragon, rather than the
Royal Oak, which is only one
more pub going northwards. Consensus was we should have started there,
as the
Royal Oak is the sole surviving pub in this heavily populated part of
the town. Situated virtually next to the
Shell garage, the
Oak is
very much a locals' pub. I can't really say much more about it as it must be
getting on for
20 years or so since I last visited the place, although I am
reliably informed it keeps a good pint of
Harvey's.
It was an early
7.30pm start , which is fine for those who
are not working, but fortunately that includes me on a
Thursday. It is still a
long hike from where I live, in south
Tonbridge, to
Shipbourne Road, but
fortunately
Matthew gave me a lift. He dropped me slightly north of the pub,
which was fine as it allowed me the chance to appreciate the many attractive
buildings in that part of the town.
There were five local
CAMRA members present, when I arrived at
the
George & Dragon, a long established and popular sports bar. The place
was busy with plenty punters watching a
European football match, but don’t ask
me which teams were playing, as I have little interest in the game these days. Two
Tonbridge beers plus
Harvey’s Best, were the cask offerings, and I am pleased
to report that
Golden Rule, from the former, was in excellent condition.
We sat in quiet area at far right of pub, well away from the
football. The pub’s interior has been tastefully decorated, and along with the
beams, comfy seating, and a large log fire, has a real homely atmosphere. To
the left of the entrance, there is a spacious raised games area, with darts,
plus two pool tables.
I hadn’t been in the George & Dragon for quite
a few years, but when I first worked in Tonbridge, during the early 80's, I was a
frequent visitor. The pub was popular with employees of the company I was
employed at, back in the day when going for a lunchtime pint was viewed as
quite a normal activity, rather than something to be frowned upon or even out
and out discouraged. A decade and a half later, when I next found myself working
in the town, I avoided the George & Dragon, as boss of the firm went there
every lunchtime, for his main meal of the day, invariably ham, egg, and chips!
The rumour was his wife didn’t cook for him at home, but
irrespective of that this individual was heavily involved in right-wing
politics, and by that I don’t mean the
Conservatives, UKIP, or even the
ERG!
Working for a company, owned by a man with unsavoury political views, was one
thing, but joining him for a lunchtime pint was something else, hence my
absence. Times change, and so do drinkers’ habits, and the
George & Dragon
is no longer open weekday lunchtimes.
It was time to move on, so we headed back towards the town
centre, passing on the way, the impressive gatehouse and stone frontage of
Tonbridge
School. The latter is a fee-paying school for boys with super rich parents,
but its ornate appearance never fails to impress visitors from our parent
company in
Japan. For some reason it reminds them of
Hogwarts, from the
Harry
Potter franchise, a fact they delight in pointing out, every time we drive by
(it’s normally me who picks the visitors up in the mornings, from the nearby
Rose &
Crown hotel.)
We gave the latter establishment a miss, along with the
Ivy
House and
Fuggles, and instead made for
Ye Olde Chequers Inn, an attractive, and quite imposing, half-timbered
building, situated in the shadow of Tonbridge Castle. With parts dating back to the 14th
Century, the Chequers is one of the oldest buildings in Tonbridge,
and almost certainly the town’s oldest pub.
The Chequers has quite rightly been described as "one
of the finest examples of a Kentish timber-framed building that can be found
today.” It is certainly a very attractive building, and its photogenic
qualities mean that, after the castle, the pub is one of the most photographed
buildings in Tonbridge, but despite such a pedigree, it never seems to quite deliver.
I might be 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 over 40 as old, but
the pub did have a real old person feel to it.
Back
in the 1980’s Tonbridge was known as a “print town,” and
boasted a couple of large printing firms, along with a major magazine publisher.
Printing was a lucrative business, 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. Again, this was at a time when lunchtime drinking was
far more commonplace than it is today.
The pub was owned by Courage back then, but as I was not a huge fan
of Courage beer, I tended to give the place a miss. 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.
There was a reasonable number of people in the pub, last Thursday, although
there was still plenty of space available. We headed to the area at the far
left, away from the football, and had the place virtually to ourselves.
Harvey’s Best and St Austell Tribute were the beers available, and whilst the
former was in good form, the latter apparently, was the complete opposite. The
barman was friendly and ready to share a joke, and we all agreed that the
Chequers had improved considerably on previous visits – apart from the below
par Tribute!
The next, and final point of call was the Beer Seller – which although south
of the river, was a convenient and convivial place to end up. We arrived just as
a rather raucous mixed group of people were leaving. A few female members of
the party appeared slightly the worse for drink, and after hanging around rather
noisily outside, were given their marching orders by the pub manager.
We found a convenient spot close to the bar and enjoyed a very pleasant and
convivial end to the evening. Two members of our group were in holiday mode, which
led to a discussion of holidays in general, both past and present. The Goacher’s
Gold Star was in particularly fine form, along with the Tonbridge Brewery
American Pale. My final beer of the evening was Café Brasilia – a rich, coffee-flavoured
stout from Kent Brewery. Along with the nearby Nelson, the Beer Seller is a regular
outlet for a brewery that seems very under-represented in this part of Kent. I can’t
say that I’ve a favourite amongst their myriad of different brews, but the ones
I’ve tried have all been interesting and, on the whole, flavoursome as well.
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