Blog Tracker
11-05-2022, 19:40
Visit the Paul Bailey's Beer Blog site (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/at-other-end-of-town.html)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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 & Dragonis no longer open weekday lunchtimes.
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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.)
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We gave the latter establishment a miss, along with the Ivy House and Fuggles, and instead made for Ye Olde Chequers Inn (http://www.tonbridgehistory.org.uk/places/the-chequers.htm), an attractive, and quite imposing, half-timbered building, situated in the shadow of Tonbridge Castle. With parts dating back to the 14thCentury, 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.
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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 Chequerswas 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.
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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!
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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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So ended our mini crawl of north Tonbridge which by visiting two pubs rarely frequented by local CAMRA members, managed to meet the original objective of the evening. From my viewpoint, it was a most enjoyable evening, and I think for West Kent CAMRA as well, it was a successful event. Follow Blog via EmailClick to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
More... (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/at-other-end-of-town.html)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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 & Dragonis no longer open weekday lunchtimes.
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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.)
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We gave the latter establishment a miss, along with the Ivy House and Fuggles, and instead made for Ye Olde Chequers Inn (http://www.tonbridgehistory.org.uk/places/the-chequers.htm), an attractive, and quite imposing, half-timbered building, situated in the shadow of Tonbridge Castle. With parts dating back to the 14thCentury, 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.
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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 Chequerswas 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.
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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!
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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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So ended our mini crawl of north Tonbridge which by visiting two pubs rarely frequented by local CAMRA members, managed to meet the original objective of the evening. From my viewpoint, it was a most enjoyable evening, and I think for West Kent CAMRA as well, it was a successful event. Follow Blog via EmailClick to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
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