CONCORDE Pub of Rainham

DOVER KENT ARCHIVES

Sort file:- Rainham, April, 2023.

Page Updated:- Saturday, 29 April, 2023.

PUB LIST

PUBLIC HOUSES

Paul Skelton

Earliest 1969

Concorde

Open 2020+ (Name to)

120 Wakeley Road

Rainham

https://whatpub.com/concorde

Above photo 2009 by Nigel Chadwick Creative Commons Licence.

Above photo, 2020.

Above photo, 2020, kindly sent by Debi Birkin.

Above sign left, 1969, sign right, 1990s.

Above sign left, date unknown, sign right 1998.

Thanks from Brian Curtis www.innsignsociety.com.

Above sign left 2013, sign right, 2021.

From Elliotts Company Magazine 1969.

DRINK CONCORD(E)

THERE'S a Concorde pub now at Otterham Quay Estate, Rainham, brand new and with all the modern trimmings. And TACD played a good part in the launching arrangements. It so happens that then TACD Chief Buyer Charles Berry's daughter works in the Whitbread Fremlin office in Maidstone. She appealed to her father, who arranged for Richard Cummings (TACD Tech Pubs) and Malcolm Moulton (TACD Sales) to provide pictures for the pub sign painter and produce the large, framed montage of a Concorde flying over the EFA factor) shown below.

Photo above showing Mr H Woodman, landlord of the new Concorde pub, inspects TACD's montage of Concorde flying over the Rochester factory. Picture by "Evening Post."

The launching ceremony was performed on Guy Fawkes day by Lord Cornwallis, who is chairman of the brewery as well as Lord Lieutenant of the County. Lord Cornwallis recorded TACD's part in Concorde as well as their contribution to the pub in the most generous terms before unveiling the sign and formally downing the first pint, above The word Concorde is without the final E on this side of the sign, but with it on the far side.

Lord Cornwallis formally downs the first pint after unveiling the Concorde pub sign. Concorde is spelt with an e on the far side of the sign. Picture by "Evening Post.

Spelt originally without the "E" on one side of the sign and with an "E" on the other the "Concorde" was built in 1969, to service the social needs of the residents on the Otterham Quay Housing Estate. For centuries Otterham Quay had served as an important port on the Rainham side of the parish of Upchurch. It’s believed that a young Sir Francis Drake may have learnt to sail from here on a small vessel that regularly sailed to the Belgian coast. With the construction of the brickfields during the mid 19th century, barges transported finished bricks to other locations and delivered manure as fertilizer for local farms. By 1900, the majority of men living in the Otterham Quay area were employed in the brickfield industry and the demand for more workers led to the construction of several pubs. The "Three Sisters" which is the only one surviving from those times had been constructed in 1863 and remains today – whilst the "Anchor and Hope" and the "Lord Stanley Tavern" have disappeared. (Above information from Brian Brockie, 2017.)

Latest information from Ricki Mercer (November 2021) tells me that the "Concorde" is now getting a heavy or refurbishment and is changing its name to the "Rainham Arms" that will be specialising in USA style bbq food.

From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Nicola Jordan, 5 November 2021.

Concorde pub, Wakeley Road, Rainham, to undergo £200k revamp to become Rainham Arms.

For 52 years generations of customers have frequented The Concorde in Wakeley Road, Rainham.

But all that will end on Sunday as it undergoes a £200,000 facelift which includes a new name.

Concorde pub Rainham.

After one last party night on Saturday, the business closes for a month-long revamp.

A new kitchen, improved bar area and family-friendly amenities are planned by landlord and lady Aaron Booth and Marian Strelley.

They have been in charge for 18 months, but a large part of that saw them closed because of lockdown.

Keen to make the pub a valued part of the community, they've persuaded bosses at Admiral Taverns to invest the money.

Opened in 1969 as part of the new surrounding housing estate, it was named after the Anglo-French supersonic jet.

Concorde pub landlady Marian Strelley.

Dining area inside the Concorde pub Rainham.

Not only did the plane make its maiden flight that year, parts were assembled in nearby Rochester.

Aaron, 46, said: "We're looking forward to the new start, we're looking to bring the community together.

"It's an old estate pub this, and we want it to be at the centre of things."

Although its name was once the latest in modernity, Aaron says many locals have suggested the boozer badly needs a complete rebrand.

According to him, this is because down the years – and a succession of short-term managers – the pub got a bad reputation for drugs.

Outside area at Concorde pub in Rainham.

He added: "The place really needs a lot of work doing to it; it was just horrible. It needs to change with the times and it will."

Mum-of-two Marian says food will be a major part of the new set up with Aaron creating a smokehouse menu.

As for the new name, the couple – who previously ran the "Old House at Home" in Sheerness – also took customers' advice.

Aaron said: "We're going to call it the "Rainham Arms" because we're a local and want locals to be proud of us."

The estate was once orchards which supplied fruit to Buckingham Palace.

Dining area inside the Concorde pub Rainham.

The plan is to re-open the pub on December 9 with a fundraising craft fair held that weekend.

"We can't wait to re-open and get under way with everything," Marian said. "It's going to be great."

LICENSEE LIST

BOOTH Aaron & STRELLEY Marian Apr/2020+

If anyone should have any further information, or indeed any pictures or photographs of the above licensed premises, please email:-

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