This post is written with Retired Martin
in mind, after he commented on one of my recent posts. He wrote that he was
looking forward to reading about the Cardinal's Error, which might be the only
Tonbridge pub he hadn’t been in. For those who don’t know the town, and I’m
assuming that probably means more than a few of you, the Cardinal’s is an attractive,
old tile-hung pub which dates back to the
16th
century. Surrounded by a post-war housing development, the pub seems a
little incongruous, but it’s worth remembering that following
World War II, the
country faced an acute housing shortage. The solution was the construction of a
large number of housing estates, under the control of the local authority, and
then rented out at an affordable rate to local people.
Known as
“council housing” at the time, and
“social housing”
today, the planners of the estate just to the north of
Somerhill House, had the
foresight to provide occupants of the new dwellings with their own public house,
in conjunction with local brewer,
Frederick Lenny & Sons Ltd. Leney’s, who
brewed at the
Phoenix Brewery in
Wateringbury, acquired the two farmhouse
cottages in
1946, with the intention of converting them into a public house. They
transferred the liquor license from the old White Hart beer house on
Tonbridge
High Street, and the pub opened for business a few years later.
The pub was named the
"Cardinal's Error” with the
figure of
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey featuring on the sign.
Wolsey had suppressed
Tonbridge Priory (plundered the place for its wealth), with the blessing of his
master,
Henry VIII, but much against the wishes of the townsfolk. By way of
reparation, the
Cardinal promised to build a grammar school in place of the
priory, but unfortunately for him, and the good people of
Tonbridge, he fell
from favour before he could carry out his promise. His
“error” of course, was
putting his trust in the bloodthirsty tyrant, that was
Henry VIII.It's interesting to note that
Leney’s had been a subsidiary
of
Whitbread & Co Ltd since
1927, but in
1961 sold their tied estate to
Fremlin’s
Ltd of
Maidstone. That situation didn’t last long, because six years later,
Fremlin’s was purchased by
Whitbread & Co Ltd, returning the
Cardinal’s
Error to its original brewery. In
2002 Whitbread sold its pub estate, to
Enterprise Inns, and today the pub is run by
Pendry’s
Pubs Ltd. That’s enough history, apart from saying that
at one time, I was a regular visitor to what was then, a two-bar
local, on the edge of town. That was when I first started working in
Tonbridge,
which was some five years before I moved to the town. The
Cardinal’s
was a good place for a lunchtime drink, back in the days when enjoying a couple
of pints at lunchtime was perfectly acceptable. The pub served a particularly
well-kept pint of
Fremlin’s Bitter, and you could also get a decent
sausage sandwich there, as well.
The Cardinals had two bars, back then, which were quite
distinct from one another, but this arrangement worked. Things changed a decade
or so later, and whilst I can’t remember exactly when the changes took place,
they were to the detriment of both bars. The cosy atmosphere of the former
saloon bar vanished, as did the more down-to-earth feel of the public bar.
Today, the Cardinal’s remains divided
internally into two distinct drinking areas by a massive brick chimney, with
open fireplaces either side, although the addition of a games area, for pool,
darts, plus TV sports, has now left the former public bar as the quietest part
of the pub. Over the years the Cardinal’s has become
much more of a local’s pub than it had been previously, which is probably due
to the demise of the lunchtime, office, drinking crowd, but the main thing is
it is still trading. The
Cardinal’s had
been unknown territory since before the pandemic, and whilst
I’d contemplated calling in there for a while, when push came to
the shove, I kept backing away.
This situation continued for the best part of a
year, and whilst I’m not usually a procrastinator, I was in this instance. I’m
not quite sure where this reluctance stemmed from, although it may have been because
I perceived the pub as being a bit rough. It might well have been, back in the
day, but following the piecemeal sale of a large chunk of the former council
estate, under Thatcher’s “right to buy scheme,” the area has undergone a
transformation, so that argument no longer holds true.
So, last Thursday lunchtime, I bit the
bullet and took a wander along to the pub. It was just over 5 minutes’ walk, so
nice and convenient then, but would it deliver on the beer front, plus the “somewhere to
go for a nice quiet drink” front as well. I’m pleased to report that the pub
ticked both those boxes, as well as wiping away all my negative expectations. I
would guess there were a half-dozen or so customers in the pub, some sitting at
the bar, some playing pool, plus one or two nicotine addicts standing outside.
They were all male, with the landlady the only member of the opposite sex.
Quite a few of the blokes seemed a similar age to me, which was a good sign, as
far as I am concerned.
a small pub-co that also includes the
Chequers in
Tonbridge High
Street, as part of its estate.
The beer was fine, so seeing as I was a nice day, I tool my
pint outside, and sat under the semi-covered pergola area, adjacent to the games
area and over looking the pub garden. The latter seems to count include a
marquee as a semi-permanent fixture, so possibly the pub caters for weddings? At
other times, the food offering is confined to hand prepared, stone- baked
sourdough pizzas plus bar snack sides, and these seem restricted to Saturday and
Sunday afternoons.
All in all, I was impressed with what I found, and I shall
definitely be returning. The thought of a nice quiet pub where I can sit and
read a book, or engage others in conversation, should I wish, appeal to me. The
fact that this particular pub is just a 5-minute stroll away, appeals to me
even more, so in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, “I’ll be back!”
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