Westerham, revisited - Part One

Westerham is an attractive town in the Sevenoaks District of Kent and is located 3.5 miles east of Oxted and 6 miles west of Sevenoaks. It borders both Greater London and Surrey and has roots dating back to before the Norman conquest. In 1227 Henry III granted Westerham a market charter, making the settlement a major player in the buying and selling of cattle in Kent; a tradition that survived to 1961 when the last cattle market was held.

Westerham’s two most famous former residents were, General James Wolfe, and Sir Winston Churchill. Wolfe was a British Army major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759, over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec. An engagement which ended French domination over much of Canada and handed control of the province to the British. Unfortunately, the battle for Quebec, cost the lives of both Wolfe, plus the commander of the French garrison, the Marquis de Montcalm.

Sir Winston Churchill needs little in the way of introduction and is best remembered for his leadership in guiding Britain and its allies to victory over Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Churchill made his home at Chartwell, just outside Westerham, and apart from the war years, spent 40 years of his life living, and also improving this attractive, country house. Although I have walked through the grounds, at the rear of the property, I have never visited the house itself. It’s one of those situations where you never fully appreciate that which is literally on your own doorstep. One day, though!

Westerham was also home to the Black Eagle Brewery, which stood on the western edge of the town. Known as Bushell, Watkins & Smith, the company controlled 102 pubs, centred mainly on the Kent-Surrey border. It was taken over by London brewers Taylor Walker & Co in 1948, before becoming part of Ind Coope in 1959. Brewing ceased in 1965, and the site continued as a distribution depot. The brewery buildings were demolished in 1989, although the Brewer’s House remains. Yeast from the brewery was preserved at the National Collection of Yeast Cultures and is now used by the present day Westerham Brewery, which was established in 2004.

I first became aware of Westerham, after stopping off at a pub there, in the summer of 1974. I was with my father, and we were on our way back from Southampton, after dropping my sister and her friend off at the  airport. The pair were embarking on a girly holiday in the Channel Isles – possibly Jersey, although after 50 years, I can’t remember which island the girls were staying at. Our route back from Southampton, took us along the A25 from Guildford, and although not a drinker, dad fancied stopping off somewhere, for a drop of refreshment, on the way back.

I had with me, a copy of the first CAMRA Good Beer Guide, which was hot off the press that year, and dad asked me to choose a pub, near to, or preferably on our route. The General Wolfe in Westerham, seemed the obvious candidate, as this pleasant little, white-painted weatherboard pub, was right on the busy A25, a road which, back in days before the construction of M25, formed the main east-west route, to the south of London. The pub also acted as the brewery tap, for the adjoining Westerham Brewery.  After parking the car, dad and I sat in the quiet, wood-panelled front bar of the General Wolfe. I had a pint of Ind Coope Bitter which, even then, was quite rare in cask form, whilst my father had an orange juice.

In the intervening years, I made the odd visit to the General Wolfe, initially as a destination pub on cycle rides out from south London, but later as a stop off. during walks in the nearby Surrey Hills. By that time, the pub had passed to Greene King, when Ind Coope’s successors, Allied Brewers, sold off parts of their less profitable tied estate. I always had a soft spot for the place, probably because it brought back memories of enjoying that pint, with my father. In 2017 the General Wolfe sadly closed, joining another former Westerham Brewery pub, the Old House at Home, that ceased trading in 2000.

The Old House at Home, was situated on a bend, at the bottom of a hill leading into the town, as you approach from the east along the A25. I imagine financial reasons were responsible for the closure of both these pubs, highlighting the unfortunate, but continuing decline of the licensed trade. I have vague memories of enjoying a pint or two at the pub when, mainly as a result of CAMRA outings to the town, I became acquainted with some of Westerham’s other pubs.

The Friday before last, I took a bus trip over to Westerham, using the No. 1 Go Coach service, which runs daily between the town and Sevenoaks, on an hourly basis. The journey takes just under 30 minutes, and runs via Riverhead, Bessel’s Green, Sundridge and Brasted. Before reaching Westerham, the bus turns off the A25, and does a loop via the A233, into the northern part of the town. 

On the way, it passes the entrance to the present day Westerham Brewery, which revived brewing in the town, back in 2004. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a bus stop in the vicinity, which is a shame, as the newish venture features a well-stocked, brewery tap. I still haven’t visited the premises but had been banking on reaching it using public transport, rather than getting behind the wheel and driving there.

Returning to Westerham itself, I visited all three of the remaining pubs in the town centre and seeing as there’s still quite a lot to write about, I’m going to bring this post to a close, and tell you about a trio of excellent pubs, all with plenty to say, in a subsequent article.