Above photo 1900, from Steve Thoroughgood.

Above postcard, 1920.

Above photo circa 1929.

Above photo, 1930s.

Above photo, date unknown, kindly sent by Brian Brockie. Also showing the "Duke's Head," Tudor looking building up hill.

Above photo date unknown.

Above photo 2006 by Dave Patten Creative Commons Licence.

Above photo 2007, by Steve Thoroughgood.

Above photo 2020, kindly sent by Philip Dymott.

Above signs, August 1991.

With thanks from Brian Curtis www.innsignsociety.com.

From the Dover Road.

The Dover Road, The High Street.

Edward Hasted, writing in the eighteenth century, described the High Street as "a narrow ill built street". Nevertheless by the 1850's, in spite of some visitors' adverse criticism, the popularity of the High Street was at its height mainly due to the success of the textile and silk printers, Charles Swaisland, and David Evans. The population of Crayford had grown to around 3,000 with an influx of workers and their families from Macclesfield and Lancashire. Some were housed in a row of cottages called Manchester Row which stood on the high ground to the east of Grove Place. After working long hours in the factories the workers were looking for relaxation and refreshment in their free time. This was provided by a record number of pubs and beerhouses, ten of which were situated along the half mile long High Street. A number only survived for a few years and today only the following three remain. The "Crayford Arms," which opened in 1870, The "Dukes Head" which was first licensed 1771, the present building dating from 1926, and The "Bear and Ragged Staff," the oldest of them all and was first recorded in 1704. A pub called the "Half Moon" was recorded in a deed of 1684 as standing on the site and The "Bear and Ragged Staff" we see today was re-built in 1925 In 1995 the pub was taken over by the Magic Pub Group and renamed The "Orange Kipper." The change in the name raised strong protests from the Council, Heritage Groups and the public, forcing the new owners to reinstate the old name, and in November 1995 the old sign, rescued from a scrap yard, was restored to its old position on the pub.

From the https://www.newsshopper.co.uk By Pubspy, 13th September 2017.

Pubspy reviews the Bear and Ragged Staff pub in Crayford.

When did the world become obsessed with bunting again? Walking into the "Bear and Ragged Staff" in Crayford I felt as though I had walked into a street party for the Queen's jubilee, only instead of tea cakes and ecstatic children I was greeted with 'double up your burger' offers and fruit machines.

I was not immediately impressed with this Greene King pub, it has to be said.

Union Jack bunting was draped from high to low across this pub. I am as patriotic as the next man, but this was quite clearly leftover decorations that staff had not gotten around to dismantling.

There was worse to come when I looked over to the corner and saw a Christmas tree.

That's right, a bloody Christmas tree in the beginning of September. It gets said annually that Christmas gets earlier every year. But this, this was ridiculous.

I was reliably informed by staff that this particular display was to attract potential Christmas bookings. I have mixed feelings about this - by all means encourage business for your pub, but surely a poster would do?

Anyway, moving on to the pub itself. I was suitably impressed by the pints on offer.

Admittedly, a lot of them were lagers (Fosters, Amstel, San Miguel, Budweiser, to name but a few of the taps) but there were some guest ales that I was told change regularly.

And, aside from the pints, the spirit selection towered above the bar and showcased a very good range, which is not surprising for Greene King pubs as they often host rum and gin festivals and the like. So, top marks for drinks.

The atmosphere left a lot to the imagination. Hardly busy, despite a quiz taking place.

The three teams taking part made up more than half of the punters in there. No music was played, Sky Sports News was being shown on the telly as questions such as "What was the surname of the Michael J Fox character in Back to the Future?" echoed across the pub.

The bunting was starting to look like the most interesting thing about this boozer.

Posters advertised live music and DJs at the weekend, so perhaps for a more lively evening one should return with dancing shoes on.

The grub looked relatively standard for a chain which wasn't necessarily a bad reflection of the Bear, although I wasn't tempted to try anything. My San Miguel would do me fine.