Above postcard, circa 1899, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.

Above photo, 1899, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe. Showing a better image than the one above.

Above postcard, circa 1950, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.

Above photo circa 2015.

Above sign 2015.

Above photo, 21 July 2019, kindly sent by Terry Davis.

Above photo, May 2019, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.

Above photo, August 2019, kindly sent by Sharon Black.

Excerpt from the Hartlip & Stockbury Forum, April 2019.

Hartlip's Rose and Crown - two pubs or one?

One story has it that there were once two public houses in Hartlip. One was called the "Rose" and the other the "Crown." At some stage they joined and moved to the Lower Road to become the "Rose & Crown." But is there any documentary evidence for this?

The earliest piece of evidence we have seems to suggest the story is not true. There is a reference to an "alehouse" called the "Rose & Crown" from the London Gazette for January 1749. The notice is for the auction of land that belonged to the Shrubsall family. It is clear that the alehouse was being used for large gatherings in the area and was one building (no phone bids from other venues in those days.) Where the "Rose & Crown" was located is not stated.

London Gazette, January 1749.

To be sold, January the 3rd, 1749, at the "Rose and Crown" Alehouse in the Parish of Hartlip in the County of Kent, Several Leases of Fruit-Land, &c. Part of the Estate of the late James Shrubsall, deceased, of the said Parish, (to wit) From the late William Tyndale, Esq; William Tylden Esq; and Mrs. Hasted, A Stone-house for Fruit at Otterham Key, in the Parish of Upchurch: The School-house and Grounds thereto belonging, in Hartlip: A Lease of a House from Borden Trustees: And also a small Freehold Estate lying at a Place called Pigs Hole in the Parished of Breadhurst and Detling, with three Acres of Wood in Hartlip aforesaid.

After this, there is some evidence from the census that muddies the water somewhat. In the 1841 census, two public houses are listed in Hartlip. In those days the census was filled out by an "enumerator", in Hartlip's case the local school master. The entries followed the layout of the village but the addresses were usually just "cottage in the street", etc. so it is often difficult to work out which house is being described. One public house, described as the "Rose" was near the Vicarage and so was probably in what is now Wisteria Cottage. The other inn in Hartlip was situated on the Lower Road, presumably roughly where the present pub is situated. Whether its name was the "Crown" is not known as it was simply entered in the census as "Public House."

In the next census, in 1851, there are still two public houses listed in Hartlip. These are the "Rose & Crown" situated in The Street, presumably this is Wisteria Cottage, and a pub called the "William the 4th" in what was called Lower Hartlip Street.

At some time in the 1850s, the "William the 4th" seems to have changed its name to the "Eagle." At least, this is the impression given by the entry for Hartlip in Melville and Company's Directory of Kent for 1858. The "Eagle" is managed by the same person who, in 1851 census, was managing the "William the 4th. The directory shows no mention a the "Rose & Crown" so it seems that the pub in the Street had closed.

In the 1861 census, the two families from the previous censuses who managed the public houses have now both moved away. The Coulters, from the "Rose & Crown," seem to have died and their children are living with aunts and uncles. The Flints, from the "William the 4th" or the "Eagle," have moved to Sittingbourne. But, now there is only one public house recorded in Hartlip. It is entered as the "Rose & Crown" and is located in "Hartlip Road, Lower" according to the census.

In 1871, the census shows that the "Rose & Crown" is still being run by William Parsons and his wife. They are buried by the North Door in the churchyard. Finally, in the 1881 census, we see that the "Rose and Crown" is being run by the Kitchingham family. All of these Kitchinghams are buried under the yew tree on the south side of the church.

The present "Rose and Crown" dates from the 1930s. The pub before that is shown on the front cover of the magazine. This photo is thought to date from 1881. It is said they sold sweets to children from glass jars just inside the door.

So there is no evidence that we have found that suggests a pub called the "Crown" ever existed in Hartlip. Although the early census calls the pub in the Street the "Rose" it is quite possible that it was actually the "Rose & Crown." The early census is not noted for its accuracy.

All this is rather sad, as the joining of the two pubs made a nice story.

Peter Blandon.

From the http://www.courier.co.uk  26 October 2011. By East Kent Gazette.

Alpaca farmers help pub pair's green scheme.

A PUB landlord and a herd of alpacas are doing their bit to reduce climate change.

Paul Russell and wife Wendy at the "Rose and Crown" in Hartlip decided to plant a group of trees in the village, partly to replace a large yew tree they had to cut down because it was damaging their property but also to offset their carbon footprints.

Experts suggest the average person would need to plant seven trees a year to make up for the amount of greenhouse gases they cause to be released into the atmosphere.

The Russells realised their pub garden was too small to accommodate such planting so enlisted the help of regulars Andy and Kirstie Brown at nearby Valley Alpacas Ltd.

Paul, a builder by trade who entered the pub business just eight months ago, said: "We thought it would be a nice thing to do. The yew was quite a nice looking tree, I didn't like cutting it down. When I went to the council to find out if it had a preservation order on it, the man suggested it would be nice to plant a tree somewhere else.

"Wendy was saying in the pub it might be nice to plant a few trees and Kirstie said we could plant them on their land if we wanted to."

Paul and Wendy have already paid for 49 fruit trees to be planted on the farm, offsetting the carbon footprints of themselves and five staff, but now regulars want to get involved so the couple are having a chart made up, allowing punters to pay £5 per tree and have their names printed on a plaque in front of it.

It has been suggested that everyone who pays for a tree might be entered into a prize raffle, and that apple trees could be purchased and cider made from the fruit, which donors would be invited to taste.

Andy and Kirstie were keen to get involved and start work as soon as possible.

Andy said: "I have already dug 49 holes for the first lot of trees and they will probably be delivered at the end of the month."

The 50 alpacas at the farm will be a familiar site to pub regulars as some of the animals are brought to the "Rose and Crown" for events, such as this year's Easter egg hunt.