From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Keely Greenwood, 15 April 2023.

Uncertain future for The Bridges pub in Horton Road, South Darenth, as it goes up for auction.

Villagers have voiced their concerns over the future of their pub after it was revealed it has been put up for auction.

The Bridges in Dartford has been serving locals for years but residents fear what will happen when it goes under the hammer on May 4.

Its position nestled under the viaduct arches between Horton Kirby and South Darenth has seen it named Kent's most photographed pub.

But the village boozer has stood empty since closing on July 8, when locals were invited to raise a glass for the last time.

Tim Gillingwater's parents ran the old-fashioned pub for 12 years during the seventies and early eighties, when it was called The "Sun".

He still lives in the village and is disappointed at what has become of his family's pub.

"It makes me sad to see the old place boarded up," he told KentOnline. "I hope whoever buys it keeps it as a pub.

"It was our family pub. I built a carpet and window cleaning business on the back of it. It was always called the "Sun"."

Tim Gillingwater's family ran The Sun pub in Horton Kirby in the seventies.

After Tim's parents called last orders in 1983 the pub had various tenants including professional wrestler, Wayne Bridge.

He took over the building with his wife Sara in the early 2000s and changed its name to The Bridges.

Tim said: "Sara was a successful bodybuilder, and Bill was a world champion heavyweight wrestler.

"Every year on August bank holiday Sunday, they would hold a wrestler's day, and a lot of famous old wrestlers would show up including 'Mr TV' Jackie Pallo, Mick McManus, Pat Roach and Dave (Darth Vader) Prowse. Bill and Sara died within a couple of years of each other."

Tim said Bill would love to hear stories about his dad from customers.

"Bill loved my dad," Tim said. "Although they never met, customers would tell stories about his years at the pub. He used to say to me that he wanted to take the pub back to when Bill and Em, my mum and dad, ran it."

Barmaids Maddie Yates, Lottie Alexander, Charlotte Blaze and Jo Gillard behind the bar at The Bridges pub in Horton Kirby before it closed.

Tim thinks the long term effects of Covid have contributed to the end of the pub.

"Local pubs are finding it hard since the lockdown ended," he added. "It's all gone a bit dead with the closures."

Situated on the corner of Horton Road and Station Road it is being sold for £595,000, as a single bar operation with a riverside beer garden and four or five bedroom accommodation.

The worrying part for residents in the tiny village is it has been billed as suitable for "alternative use" leading to suggestions it could be turned into housing.

Jo Gillard, who worked at the pub in the few months before it closed, said residents are concerned about its future as a pub.

"People in the village have a lot of history with the pub, so there is concern," she said.

"It was a lovely place to work. People in the village are very friendly and it holds a very special place in my heart."