64-68 Blackfen Road

Blackfen

020 8850 6664

https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/kent/jolly-fenman/

https://whatpub.com/jolly-fenman

Above photo showing Haigh Cottage, date unknown, showing Mrs. Rose MvNie nee Allen standing in the door.

Above photo, 2008 by Steve Thoroughgood.

Above photo, 2019.

Above photo showing licensee Geoff Parrott in 1965.

Above sign, August 1992. With thanks from Brian Curtis www.innsignsociety.com.

The pub was first planned by Watney's in the late 1930's as the Watney Mann Brewery owned a cottage called "Haigh Cottage" but a shortage of funds meant it was not built or opened until 1957. Later a Grand Met, briefly brewing its own beers in the 1980's and became a Scottish and Newcastle Retail, now (2019) operating under the Greene King consortium with John Barras branding. The pub was fully refurbished in the autumn of 2017 which included provision of much brighter lighting and a rural style white tiled bar back wall.

Although some people address this as is Welling, and I have also seen it addressed in Sidcup, it is in fact part of Blackfen.

The pub had three bars, a Public bar, a Saloon bar and a Lounge called the Kingfisher bar. The bars had paintings of wild fowl on the walls.

Robert Tidy of Curran Avenue, Blackfen, won a competition to name the pub, and received a small cash prize and pulled the first pint on opening night.

Between 1984 and 1899 the Jolly Fenman had it's own brewery on the premises called the Fenman Brewery where up to 4 beers were brewed on the premises for sale in the pub.

The beers also found their way into local south east London beer festival held at the old Greenwich town hall.

The Jolly Fenman was at that time part of Clifton Inns, itself part of Grand Metropolitan. It produced 4 regular beers, Blackfen Bitter (og 1037), Heath Special (og 1040), Fenman Fortune (og 1047) and Fenman Dynamite (og 1056) which was sometimes branded as Exploder.

It seems the idea was that most of the Clifton Inns would have their own brewery installed on the premises, rather like the Firkin pubs of David Bruce but plusher, this unfortunately never happened as only around 5 pubs managed their own on-site breweries. Probably the most well know of these was the Orange Brewery in Pimlico SW1, they were still brewing around 2001.

The plant at the Jolly Fenman was a 5 barrel one and after it stopped brewing was relocated to another Clifton inn, the Duke of Norfolk, Notting Hill around 1989.
 Other Clifton Inn pubs that managed their own on-site breweriew were the Greyhound brewery in Streatham. Abington Park, Northampton; Duke of Norfolk, Notting Hill; Jolly Fenman, Blackfen; The Orange Brewery, Pimlico and the Yorkshire Grey, Bloomsbury.

From the https://www.newsshopper.co.uk By Tom Bull, 26th October 2017. Jolly Fenman in Sidcup: Pub reopens following six figure refurbishment. A pub in Sidcup has reopened following a six figure refurbishment. The Jolly Fenman in Blackfen Road has reopened after two weeks of refurbishments closed the boozer. The Greene King pub has been completely made over, including the introduction of two 'jumbrellas' in the beer garden that have built in heaters. The refurbishment includes a new seasonal menu, as well as the addition of local and national ales and craft beers. Tara Davis-West, general manager at the Jolly Fenman said: “The Jolly Fenman is at the heart of the Sidcup community, so we are excited to be able to offer a place where locals can enjoy a drink or meal in enhanced surroundings. “The opening was a real success, with great feedback from guests on the delicious new menu and the fantastic interior. We look forward to welcoming more guests in the coming weeks.” The new menu includes seasonal dishes like lamb shoulder and chicken, chorizo and chickpea stew. Customers have welcomed the new and improved look, with one commenting: "Great pub, beautifully refurbished. We had a fantastic evening there. The team were really friendly we had great pub food." The pint selection includes London Glory, Greene King IPA and Starry Night.

LICENSEE LIST

DAVIS-WEST Tara 2017+