A quiet Kentish backwater is home to a trio of historic pubs

Following the gentle teasing of the previous post, which was intended to set the scene for this one, we now move on to the main event.  This is where I take a more detailed look at the three historic pubs, I visited last Friday. Before I get going it's interesting to note that the youngest of the three pubs is the only one that features on CAMRA’s National Inventory of pubs with unspoilt interiors. I’m presuming this is because the two older pubs have been altered and knocked about somewhat, over the years.

I'm going to start with the oldest pub first, and this is the Olde Yew Tree in the tiny village of Westbere, overlooking the River Stour. It was quite a hike down a winding narrow lane leading off from the busy, traffic choked A28, and enjoy the tranquilly as the road to Westbere descended down towards the river. Fortunately, there were very few cars passing along this road and the only real sound I heard was that of an old boy cutting a hedge.

Westbere is obviously a place for the well-off, as evidenced by some rather splendid looking houses -   not too grandiose but in keeping with the tradition of this tranquil, rural, settlement. The Olde Yew Tree is at the far end of the village, not far from the church, and from the outside it was everything one might expect from an old medieval inn. It is an attractive, half-timbered building which is deceptively larger inside, than it is on the exterior – as I was soon to discover. What Pub gave an opening time of 11.30am, but 10 minutes away from midday the pub still looked decidedly shut. I walked up to the church and back to kill a little time, stopping to take a few photos along the way, and when I arrived back at the Yew Tree, shortly after midday, the lights were on.

I followed the sign that said the entrance was at the rear of the building, so I followed the path round, and stepped inside. I was the first customer, and the friendly licensee behind the bar greeted me warmly, asking me what would I like to drink? There was only one cask ale on and that was Shepherd Neame Master Brew, not my favourite beer by any stretch of the imagination, so rather than risk a pint, I went for a half. The landlord was quite chatty and happy to answer some of the many questions I had. I learned that the front part of the pub was the oldest,  and that it dated from 1348, explaining why the Olde Yew Tree can claim to be the oldest pub in Kent.

The section at the rear, which is where the bar is situated, is newer, although he didn't say by how many years. A step or two down from the bar area, is oldest, and also the main part of the pub. There are plenty of old beams, as one might expect, and I suspect that some upright timbers might once have been part of walls between a number of separate rooms. A building this old is obviously steeped in history, and Queen Anne plus an Archbishop of Canterbury are said to a stayed in the pub, although presumably not at the same time! The building was also used as a hospital to treat wounded soldiers, during the English Civil War.

The landlord invited me to take a look around and confirmed that it was fine for me to be taking a few photos, although pretty soon after I’d finished me inspection, other customers began arriving. I got the impression that the Yew Tree is popular with diners, no matter what the season, for whilst there is a warming pen fire during the winter months, there is a large and attractive beer garden at the rear of the property for when the weather becomes warmer.  

On leaving the pub, I walked back up to the main road – the old boy was still hard at it, cutting his hedge, when I walked by. As explained in the previous post, I took the bus back to Sturry station, and from there it was a short walk into nearby Fordwich. Until the middle ages this picturesque little town was known as “The Port of Canterbury'” or more accurately, the port FOR Canterbury, because it was indeed a port. It sat at the head of the Stour estuary and was both tidal and navigable. The town owned the quay and also a crane for off-loading cargoes, and derived income from duty on imported goods. Stone used to build Canterbury Cathedral, passed through Fordwich, having been imported from the French city of Caen.

By the late 1700's the estuary had largely silted up, and the town found itself stranded inland, due to restricted access along the River Stour, and by Victorian times it had become inaccessible to cargo boats. Fordwich finally ceased trading as a port in 1830, when a rail line was built linking Canterbury with Whitstable Harbour. At this point in time, the townsfolk built a narrow bridge over the River Stour and derived income from tolls charged on the carts and wagons coming into the town. These tolls were leased by the landlord of the George and Dragon, which brings us nicely to the next pub on my list.

Situated next to the River Stour, the George & Dragon is a multi-roomed pub that has been tastefully refurbished. It is one of 79 pubs owned by the Brunning & Price group , and whilst the chain is probably better known in the north-west of England, they own a number of pubs in the south-east. I’m not certain of the age of the George & Dragon, but its pale lemon coloured exterior seemed to compliment its obvious antiquity. It was quite busy when I made my way inside, and the layout of several bars, comfortable furniture, and plenty of wooden beams, helped create a feeling of unhurried cosiness, along with the warming glow from several open fireplaces.

The bar is at the front of the building, almost opposite the entrance, with a dining area to the left, and two separate rooms leading off to the right. There is another room, at a lower level, behind the bar, and it was here, at a small table, that I made myself at home – but not before buying myself a beer. Gadds’ No. 5, Adnams Southwold, plus a B&P "house beer," brewed by St Austell, were the beers on offer. I opted for the Southwold Bitter, as it is an Adnams beer we don’t often see in Kent (some of us aren’t that keen on Ghost Ship!). My pint was well conditioned and tasty, and I enjoyed sitting there watching the comings and goings. There was a good, mixed clientele, which included tradesmen, families, mothers and babies, plus the obligatory “ladies that lunch!”

Leaving the George & Dragon I turned the corner and headed into the centre of Fordwich, which is marked by the church of St Mary the Virgin. On the way I stopped briefly to ask a couple of builders, working on the exterior of a rather old medieval property, if there are any shops nearby. I was looking for a bakers, so I could grab a bite to eat, but the pair laughed and said the nearest shops were in Sturry. I knew that the food at my next destination, the Fordwich Arms would be expensive - £70.00 per head, for the 3-course a-la-carte menu, but salvation came in the form of Piper’s Crisps.

As the Fordwich Arms is an unashamed gastro pub, a better plan would have been to have called in there first, and then visited the George & Dragon on the way back to the station. Food prices would undoubtedly have been more reasonable there. A “schoolboy error,” as one of my colleagues would say, but never mind. The pub itself is a 1930s, red-brick building overlooking the River Stour, opposite Fordwich’s ancient town hall.  Internally, there is a large and attractive, wood-panelled bar at the front of the building, with an open fireplace at one end. A number of stools allow drinkers, who like that sort of thing, to sit at the bar. To the left of the bar there is a separate oak-panelled dining room, which has collected a Michelin star, along with some other prestigious awards.

The beer, and the Piper’s Crisps were much more appealing, as far as I was concerned, and whilst Taylor’s Landlord was the sole cask offering, it was in top condition. Definitely a 4.5, and pushing towards a 5.0, if I was able to submit beer scores to CAMRA. Mind you, it was a fiver a pint! Apart from me, there was one other punter, sat on a stool at the bar, with his dog sitting patiently at his feet, drinking a bottle of Newcastle Brown. He was on his second bottle by the time I left.

The Fordwich Arms is on CAMRA’s Inventory of Heritage Pubs, due to its interior of regional importance – the only one of the three pubs I visited that day, to have this achievement. It’s worth a visit, despite its gastro credentials, and appears to tick all the right boxes, as far as the foodie luvvies are concerned. I did read that before its conversion, at the beginning of 2018, it was an ordinary pub, where I definitely could have procured a lunchtime meal!

 

 

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.