Above photo 1935, from www.Flickr.com by Ben Levick.

Information below by Ben Levick

The "New Inn" on the corner of the High Street and King Street opened before 1870 when it was known as 'The New Inn and York Tavern'. It was a large premises with a club room. In the mid 20th century it changed its name to the "Samuel Pepys". Samuel Pepys was a regular visitor to Chatham Dockyard in the 17th century as Secretary of the Naval Board. The sign was copied in 1943 from an unpublished portrait of Pepys in the possession of Mr. A. Bryant, the historian and an authority on Pepys. Mr. Bryant wrote:- "I am delighted to know Samuel Pepys is to be commemorated in a tavern. Nothing could be more fitting or human and one can feel how delighted he would be at the thought. I wish the tavern all good luck, Samuel's ghost by the fireside, and no more bombs! May it always be filled with thirsty craftsmen and master shipwrights..."

It closed in 1979.