The Hostelries of Paddock Wood

Christmas comes but once a year and when it comes it brings good cheer. 

So runs the old adage and whilst good cheer can be found in a variety of ways, for many it is associated with a visit to the local pub, perhaps more especially during the festive season. 

Man discovered alcohol before recorded history began but those in authority soon realised that taxation and alcohol made good bedfellows.  And so the licensing system began.  Over the years Paddock Wood has had a number of off licenses, often linked to a grocery business, and it has also had its share of inns and pubs. 

Before the railway came in 1842 there were several pubs within what is now Paddock Wood parish.  The hamlet of Queen Street had the Freemasons Arms and the Queen’s Head plus the New Inn situated on the boundary with Yalding.  None of these exists today, nor does the former Mile Oak Inn near Catts Place.  The history of these establishments and also the Elm Tree at Mile Oak crossroads will be the subject of a future article.  

Railway Hotel

Within Paddock Wood village the first licensed house to be built was the Maidstone Road Inn. This later became the Railway Hotel, then the Hop Pocket and finally the Hop Inn. The date of its opening is unknown but the land for it was leased from the railway around 1843 and it was probably up and running by 1844. In January 1944 the property was destroyed when a German Junkers 88 bomber was shot down and crashed in the area, causing a major explosion.

Hop Pocket

The pub was eventually rebuilt on the same site and reopened in 1955. In 2004 the Hop Pocket was leased out to London and Edinburgh Inns by new owners Enterprise Inns but unfortunately the lessees went into receivership in 2006 and the premises (by then known as the Hop Inn) finally closed in April 2007. The building was later demolished and flats were built on the site.

The Kent Arms (a.k.a John Brunt VC)

The second pub to be established in the town was the Kent Arms, known nowadays as the John Brunt V.C. The building in which it is housed was originally a private house occupied by Thomas Mitchell in the area then known as Rats Castle. It seems to have been converted into a pub sometime between 1851 and 1861, the first landlord being John Moseley. From around 1870 up until at least 1901 the pub was run by the Bowles family. By 1911 the landlord was James Walker, father of the local historian Jack Walker. Legend has it that the building was at one time haunted by a woman with long hair who had come to a sad end and in support of this it is recorded that the resident ostler preferred to spend his nights in Tonbridge rather than in the pub. The Kent Arms was formally renamed the John Brunt V.C. on 3 September 1947, the only public house in the country named after a VC winner. In 1997 its name was changed by new owners to the Hopping Hooden Horse but this was unpopular with the locals and when the pub changed hands again in 2001 the name reverted to the John Brunt V.C.

The Forestors Arms

The third of the three town pubs was the Foresters Arms. This house was built by George Waghorn in 1869 but when he applied for a licence in September that year the application was opposed by the licensee of the Maidstone Road Inn because he feared “abstraction of trade”.

Further opposition was voiced by the Rev. Storr of Brenchley on the grounds that there were “too many beer shops in the parish”. The application was initially turned down by the magistrates, but on the more prosaic grounds that the property “was not yet included in the rate book”. The matter was soon resolved to their worships’ satisfaction however because by April 1871 the Foresters Arms was in full operation, with George Waghorn as landlord. He was succeeded as landlord by his son Charles sometime around 1900.

In addition to the three establishments mentioned above there were for a while licensed premises at Paddock Wood railway station, the permission for which was granted in October 1878. The Railway Refreshment Bar as it was known was located on both up and down platforms, Henry Brett being the licensee. The Refreshment Bar was still operating in April 1881 but there is no record of it after this and by April 1891 the premises had become a coffee tavern.

Written by the late John Flashman and Meryl Flashman © 2013

With acknowledgements to Jack Walker, Roger Ralph and Paddock Wood History Research Group. Photographs courtesy of Heritage Paddock Wood. © 2013