Another pub gone

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First time I've been up the Tonbridge Road for a while, so I was shocked to see that the Admiral Gordon is now a shop! Still the Walnut Tree is still there and the Duke of Edinburgh looks like it's still open.

How long before all we have left is the 'tourist' pubs in pretty vilages and town centre ones? RIP the old local?

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Ffs

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Used to spend most lunchtimes in there when I was in the 6th form at school.

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It's a Londis now - by the looks of it it's only just happened.

I noticed that the DofE (near the hospital) no longer seems to be a Shepherd Neame pub too. Presumably someone's taken it over as a free house? Only ever drank in there once and it wasn't exactly impressive (but that was in the 80s!).

[toonarmy]

May 11, 2017 9:28:21 GMT @johndaubneyslegs said:

First time I've been up the Tonbridge Road for a while, so I was shocked to see that the Admiral Gordon is now a shop! Still the Walnut Tree is still there and the Duke of Edinburgh looks like it's still open.

How long before all we have left is the 'tourist' pubs in pretty vilages and town centre ones? RIP the old local?

Absolutely terrible pub, probably never got over the patronage of DaveU

[Deleted]

Just had a very sobering trip round Fant on Google Earth to see what pubs are left from my old neighbourhood. And it's pretty awful.

The wonderful old Fant Arms has gone - turned into houses, the Cooper's Cask is now flats, and worst of all, the Anchor and Hope has disappeared completely - knocked down to build houses. It's almost unbelievable. The First and Last has somehow managed to survive, despite being a) tiny and b) a shithole - last one standing, I suppose.

And, back on the Tonbridge Road, to my utter amazement, the Bower Arms is still there - despite being slap bang next to the workingman's club, and being one of the worst pubs I've even been in (the landlady used to come round and sit on the customer's side of the bar - one night we were in the middle of a quiet game of pool when she got so pissed she fell off her stool!).

The Railway Hotel(?), next to West Station, is long gone, of course, but that certainly isn't missed - that really was the worst pub I've ever been in (although it was a close run thing compared to the Queen Vic). Anyone remember the pub round the back of that, between what is now McDonald's and the Ghurkha restaurant - I think it was called the Railway Arms? It was knocked down years ago, I think because there was so much trouble - I never dared drink in there as it had such a reputation as a biker's pub. After it went, they moved on to the Albion, opposite the museum, but that was quiet compared to the old pub.

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Admiral Gordon closed around 7-8months ago.

[toonarmy]

I think the first and last is a nice little pub

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Missed jdl's comments about that. Yep, don't get in there much but it's a nice pub.

The Bower remains one that has eluded me, pretty sure it's the only pub in the town/surrounding area that I've not blessed with my presence.

[barmingexile]

I used to drink in the Saxon Chief - and be in their quiz team - but I understand that it's long since gone. Haven't been up that way in many years.

[Deleted]

May 12, 2017 16:51:41 GMT toonarmy said:

I think the first and last is a nice little pub

First and Last is a really nice pub, probably one of my favourites in Maidstone. You also have the Fox around that way but i've never paid a visit.

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Maybe the First and Last has improved - I last drank in there maybe 20 years ago, so it's probably changed managers/owners a few times since then. It has odd toilets, if I remember - bit too 'intimate' for my liking...

The Fox was a nice pub, very comfortable and traditional, so it's good to see that's survived. But too far from where I lived, so I've only been in there a few times - there's a definite limit to the number of times anyone has any reason to be in the Hartnup/Hackney area...

According to Google, the Cherry Tree is still a going concern - never a favourite of mine. Odd that that's survived when the Fountain suffered the Indian Restaurant curse.

The Redstart is still there too, apparently. I somehow managed to live in Barming for 11 years and never once go in there...

And the Bull has survived. That used to be a pretty good pub, and worth the walk (although a bugger of a hill coming back up), but again that was 30+ years ago. My middle lad was barman there once - for just one day. He'd never worked with real ale before, and when the manager asked him to change a barrel he stupidly didn't mention this, assuming it couldn't be much different to keg beer. The result was several gallons of beer on the cellar floor and one of my lad's shorter working days.

[Deleted]

May 11, 2017 23:14:50 GMT @johndaubneyslegs said:

Just had a very sobering trip round Fant on Google Earth to see what pubs are left from my old neighbourhood. And it's pretty awful.

The wonderful old Fant Arms has gone - turned into houses, the Cooper's Cask is now flats, and worst of all, the Anchor and Hope has disappeared completely - knocked down to build houses. It's almost unbelievable. The First and Last has somehow managed to survive, despite being a) tiny and b) a shithole - last one standing, I suppose.

And, back on the Tonbridge Road, to my utter amazement, the Bower Arms is still there - despite being slap bang next to the workingman's club, and being one of the worst pubs I've even been in (the landlady used to come round and sit on the customer's side of the bar - one night we were in the middle of a quiet game of pool when she got so pissed she fell off her stool!).

The Railway Hotel(?), next to West Station, is long gone, of course, but that certainly isn't missed - that really was the worst pub I've ever been in (although it was a close run thing compared to the Queen Vic). Anyone remember the pub round the back of that, between what is now McDonald's and the Ghurkha restaurant - I think it was called the Railway Arms? It was knocked down years ago, I think because there was so much trouble - I never dared drink in there as it had such a reputation as a biker's pub. After it went, they moved on to the Albion, opposite the museum, but that was quiet compared to the old pub.

I think it was called the railway bell, closed In the late 1980s i think.... I can remember my step dad taking my mum and i there on river festival night, and someone​ setting light to an old sofa and old bloke was passed out on!

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Bearsted and the surrounding area is suffering a similar fate, the plantation closed last year and the orchard spot in now only a function room mainly for weddings on weekends

All the pubs in shepway and parkwood are gone too now, the Whitehorse in otham is still there though.

[Deleted]

May 22, 2017 13:24:38 GMT rollingstone said:

Bearsted and the surrounding area is suffering a similar fate, the plantation closed last year and the orchard spot in now only a function room mainly for weddings on weekends

All the pubs in shepway and parkwood are gone too now, the Whitehorse in otham is still there though.

Hard to believe both those pubs have gone, I would have thought both had a secure future. Can't get my head round the idea that the Plantation is no more...