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53 Cooling Road, Bill Street
(Frindsbury)
Strood
https://whatpub.com/royal-oak
From a review by Steve C June 2011:- "The "Royal Oak" is a long and
thin pub with a quiet bar on the left hand side and a public bar with a pool
table, dartboard and TV on the right. Adnams Bitter and Explorer were the
two ale options alongside some standard draught from which I had a decent
Guinness that was served by a nice enough guy behind the bar. There is some
café style seating covered by an awning with views of the car park to the
left of the pub. I didn't see any food advertised and a sign in the window
says ‘no children'.
I thought that this pub was pleasant enough and it was nice to find a
toilet complete with seat, lock on door, toilet paper and soap. I'm not sure
that I would go out of my way to visit again though.
This pub is currently available to let so hopefully someone will take
over the lease before it shuts."
Although still operating in 2014 I have heard that although campaigners
tried to save the pub from closure it closed for good on 20 September 2015
to a developer who wished to demolish the pub and replace it with a new
build of six terraced houses. In 2017 developers had been granted planning permission to turn it into
a four bedroom house.
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Maidstone Journal December 1858.
John Charlton of the Royal Oak, Bill street, Frindsbury fined 20
shillings including cost for keeping beer house open during prohibited
hours.
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South Eastern Gazette, 3 January, 1860.
Suicide in a well.
On Monday last and inquest was held by T. Hills, Esq., coroner, at
the "Royal Oak," Findsbury, on the body of George Phillips, age 55,
who committed suicide by throwing himself down a well.
A witnessed named Haldaway stated that he had known the deceased
about 17 years, and until within a short time before his death he
had been in the employee of Mr. Woodham's. On the previous Saturday
witness asked deceased to take some evergreens to Brompton Barracks,
which he promised to do, but falling to keep his engagement
witnessed made some inquiries for him, but he could nowhere be
found. After some time the well was searched, when the lifeless body
of deceased was discovered at the bottom of it, lying head
downwards. William Roberts deposed that on the day of the occurrence
he saw the deceased drawing water at the well; he appeared to be in
exceedingly low spirits, and in illusion to his being discharged
from Mr. Woodham;s service deceased remarked, "This is a bad job; I
think I shall destroy myself." He appeared to be very desponding;
witness afterwards left him and did not see him alive again.
The jury immediately returned a verdict that the deceased destroyed
himself in a fit of temporary insanity. He is stated to have left a
widow and a very numerous family.
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Maidstone Journal June 1872.
Thomas Chalkin, landlord of the "Royal Oak," Frindsbury, fined 20
shillings & 9 shillings cost for keeping beer house open during prohibited
hours.
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Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser, Thursday 28 November 1895.
A Publicans Sad Death.
On Tuesday afternoon William Sayer, landlord of the "Royal Oak"
beerhouse, Bill-street, Frindsbury, met
with a shocking death while it work in Mr. Horsenail's brickfield, at
Bill-street. He was digging chalk from a
pit when several foot of earth fell from the top and buried him, killing
him instantly. Several men at once set
to work to recover the body, but three quarters of an hour had elapsed
before they came across the poor
fellow, lifeless and in a stooping position, with terrible wounds about
his head. The body, after being examined by a doctor, was removed to his home close by. Sayer leaves a
widow and two young children.
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From the
https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Clare Freeman, 21 August 2016.
"Trafalgar Maid," Warner Street, Chatham could be demolished and flats built in its place.
Another Medway pub could be demolished and apartments built in its
place, as the demand for housing land intensifies.
Plans have been submitted to develop the site of the Trafalgar Maid in
Warner Street, Chatham which has been closed for several years.
The applicant intends to knock down the former pub and build one one-bed
and five two-bed flats in its place. The new building will be the same
size as the existing one.
There will also be undercroft parking and two visitor spaces next to the
property, which will see the footpath reduced to a width of 2m and a
street lamp relocated.
It is the latest in a series of applications which have seen pubs across
the Town replaced with housing.
Campaigners recently saved the "Royal Oak" in Frindsbury from the
bulldozers after developers wanted to demolish the 17th century pub and
replace it with homes.
Campaigners celebrate after saving The Royal Oak, Frindsbury.
Spearheaded by Strood resident Joe O’Donnell, the campaign led to the
pub in Cooling Road has now been given Grade II listed status and been
listed as an asset of community value.
Over the years, applications have been submitted to convert many former
pubs across the Towns into housing including the "Green Dragon" in Church
Street, Gillingham; the "Horseshoe" in Cuxton Road, Strood; The
"Brickmakers Arms" in Wyles Street, Gillingham; The
"Three Gardeners" in
North Street, Strood; "Tug and Shovel" on the corner of Gun Lane and North
Street, Strood; The "Alma" in Knight Road, Strood; the
"Countryman" in
Saunders Street, Gillingham; The "Black Lion" in Mill Road, Gillingham;
the "North Foreland" in Rochester High Street and the
"Woodsman," Yarrow
Road, Walderslade.
Medway needs to find enough land for 30,000 new homes over the next 20
years and the council are under huge pressure to find sites.
The issue came to light earlier this summer, when Dave Harris, the head
of planning, told a planning committee that the council are “nowhere
near a five year housing land supply”.
He said it was more like a two year supply, adding that some greenfield
sites will have to be released.
A public inquiry into plans to build 5,000 homes at Lodge Hill is still
yet to start despite council planners approving it almost two years ago.
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LICENSEE LIST
HUBBARD Nicholas
1754-57
READY David
1758-59
READY Sarah
1760-62
FAIRWAY Thomas 1765-68
BOWMAN John 1770
BOWMAN James 1771-74
KING James 1775
COLEMAN Friend 1776
TOMLIN James 1778-80
SUMMERS William 1781
TODD William 1783
BARTON John 1785
HILLS Robert 1787
WELLS Saul 1855
CHARLTON Joseph 1858-62 (also market gardener labourer age 42 in 1861 )
CHARLTON Rachel (widow) 1864+
SMITH William 1865+
BALLARD Samuel 1866-69
CHALKEN Thomas 1869-72+ (listed as Engineer age 33 in 1871)
EVANS Valentine 1874+
RUSSELL Abraham 1881+ (age 40 in 1881)
SAYER William to Nov/1895 dec'd
EVENDEN John Stainchill ?1891?-1925 dec'd (widow age 61
in 1911)
WALTER George 1930+
WARD Thomas Harold 1938+
https://pubwiki.co.uk/RoyalOak.shtml
From
the Kelly's Directory 1903
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