Welcome to the smallest town in Britain, and the oldest pub in Kent

Spoiler alert, this post is a prelude to the one that will come next, so don’t expect too much detail regarding either the pubs, or the beers I found on sale there. All will be revealed, in the next article.

Well, its “Explore Pub Friday” once more, and yet again I was in a quandary. My original plan had been to knock off the remaining two or three miles of the official route of the North Downs Way, a task I've been attempting for some time now. However, after being thwarted by weeks of heavy rain, followed by the recent spell of cold weather I was beginning to think that mother nature herself was conspiring to impede my progress. The section of the official NDW route that I missed, was a distance of just under two miles once the links between the path and the main road are taken into account. My thrice-postponed plan had been, to take a bus to Knockholt Pound, from Orpington railway station, complete the walk as far as Knockholt village, and then take another bus to a country pub, for a spot of lunch and a couple of pints.

I shan’t reveal the name of the pub or its location, but it’s a place I have never been to before, and one that I expect most members of West Kent CAMRA have not been to either. Following this lunch stop, I would then catch a third bus back to Orpington, for the train home. It was the potential of waiting around in the cold, for late-running buses, that scuppered Friday’s walk, rather than anything else, although having studied route maps and obtained bus times, I intend to put this one to bed, once the temperatures improve and the prospect of more heavy rain, recedes.

With the walk postponed, I began looking around for other options. Knowing that a strike by train drivers would affect rail services on 3^rd February, next Friday, I decided to reserve that particular day for a location that is reachable by bus, rather than rail. So, with this in mind, it seemed sensible to take advantage of a day when the trains were running and go somewhere further afield. But where?

 I spent ages looking for somewhere with a with real character, and potentially some different beers, although that last factor was the most important one. Slightly bereft of ideas, I looked to CAMRA’s National Inventory List for guidance, working on the premise that success was more likely with those pubs listed with interiors of regional importance, rather than the far scarcer listings of pubs with a nationally important interior. I was surprised to find quite a few Kentish pubs falling in to the regionally important category, and secretly pleased when I realised, I’d already been in quite a few of them.

In the end I chose the settlement of Fordwich, a few miles to the north of Canterbury, where as well as the inventory listed Fordwich Arms, there was another pub with an interesting history, called the George & Dragon. I’d heard of Fordwich, although that was about it, as despite living for most of the 67 years in Kent, I had never set foot in the place. So, a quick potted history of Fordwich, as I know how much some of my readers enjoy learning about the past!

Fordwich is an ancient settlement, that lays claim to the title of England’s smallest town. It was described in the Domesday Book as a small burgh, although I’m not sure what a burgh is, or was. Fordwich became a town in 1184, when King Henry II granted it a Merchant Charter, reflecting its importance as the de facto port for Canterbury. During the 13th century, Fordwich became a "limb" (subsidiary), of the Cinque Ports, due to its proximity to Sandwich, but despite its status, the town has never boasted more than a few hundred inhabitants.

So much for the history, but what about the geography, and was I easy to reach by public transport. The answer was yes, as Fordwich is just a short walk from Sturry station, which itself is just one stop down the line from Canterbury West. Even better were the direct hourly trains, from Tonbridge, and a journey time of around 65 minutes. The line from Ashford to Canterbury via the Stour Valley, is well known to me, but not so the stretch northwards towards Thanet. Sturry village, which again I am unfamiliar with, is larger than neighbouring Fordwich, due to recent housing developments, and has become something of a dormitory village for Canterbury.

A little more research on What Pub, revealed another historical pub nearby, in the shape of the Olde Yew Tree at Westbere, just over a mile away, from Sturry. The Yew Tree was built in 1346, and claims to be the oldest pub in Kent, so I now had the opportunity of visiting three historical pubs, all full of character, and all within easy walking distance of each other. That wasn’t quite true with regard to Westbere, a small village just off the busy A28, Canterbury – Margate road, and it was the heavy traffic along that road that persuaded me to take the bus, to and from Sturry station.

There was a pavement on either side of the highway, but much as I enjoy walking, a busy "A" road, with a constant stream of traffic, and possessing all the charms of suburbia, persuaded me make full use of my bus pass instead. Westbere is accessed by a narrow, winding road leading off from the A28, and overlooks the lakes of the same name. These were originally created for extraction of gravel, laid down by the Great Stour river that runs through the valley. The Yew Tree pub is at the far end of the village, close to the church. Much of the surrounding countryside is wooded, which meant I didn’t catch a glimpse of the river, although I obviously found the pub.

More on the Yew Tree in the next post, along with what I found when I made the short walk, in the opposite direction, from Sturry station, towards the ancient port of Fordwich. What I will say is the housing density, is much greater in Fordwich, than in Westbere, although many of the houses and buildings are of a similar antiquity.