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55 High Street
Chatham
Above photo, date unknown, kindly sent by Debi Birkin. |
Above photo, showing the Royal Empire at 49, Entertaining the Wounded
Sailors and Soldiers on 6 July 1916. The Royal Exchange was situated at 55. |
Above photo 1984. I believe the premises was being demolished at the
time. Also showing the "Von Alten." |
Photo taken from
http://www.kenthistoryforum.co.uk it is stated the building in the
centre is the rear of the Royal Exchange in the early 1970s, after the
Empire was demolished and before Anchorage House was built. |
This pub is one in the list of my "Project 2014," and the research
is still in its early stages.
As such I haven't found a picture of the pub, and have no other
information. Local knowledge, further pictures, and licensee information
would be appreciated.
I will be adding the historical information when I find or are sent it,
but this project is a very big one, and I do not know when or where the
information will come from.
All emails are answered.
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Kentish Gazette, 14 March 1876.
ROBBERY FROM THE PERSON AT CHATHAM.
Edward Hayes, 23, mariner, and James Gooding, 35, labourer, were
indicted for stealing 7s., belonging to Samuel Rigden, at Chatham,
on the 15th January.
Mr. Hamilton prosecuted.
The prosecutor met the prisoners at the "Royal Exchange" beerhouse
at Chatham, and treated them to some beer. In the course of
conversation, some one in the room asked him for some tobacco, and
he told them he had none. Hayes replied "Surely you have some," and
Rigden then said he had not, and they might feel in his pockets.
Hayes accepted the offer and immediately put his hand into his
(prosecutor's) pocket and took out a canvas bag containing the money
in question. Rigden said "if you take that you will rob me," and
immediately received a bow in the face. Hayes refused to give the
money up, and prosecutor consequently went after a policeman. During
his absence, Hayes was seen to pass what appeared to be a canvas bag
to Gooding, who then left the house. When the prisoners were
apprehended, no money was found in their possession.
Hayes denied that he took any money out of the pocket, while Gooding
declared that he never saw anything of it.
The jury convicted Hayes of stealing and Gooding of unlawfully
receiving the money. Gooding admitted that in 1863 he was convicted
of manslaughter, but nothing was known against the other prisoner,
who was sentenced to three months' hard labour. Gooding was ordered
to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for two months.
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From an email received 24 August 2015.
I spent many a
happy summer holiday staying with my grandparents at the "Royal
Exchange" in Chatham from late 1950's to mid 1960's.
The landlady was Ethel Barker, my Grandmother.
I can still remember hearing the juke box music from the bar as we
slept above.
Bill was the catering manager of the Empire theatre next door. This
building also had a cinema below the theatre. Their son Peter Barker is
slightly older than me and together we spent our summers in Chatham.
Peter still lives in Cliftonville.
It was always a busy pub. With the decline of the commercial port and
the closure of both the dockyard and the army barracks my grandparents
retired to Cliftonville but retained the tenancy of the pub with
different managers.
Bill was once invited to the mess hall at the barracks and on his
return commented that they had more of of his pub furniture there than
he had in the pub. Such was the relationship between the pub and the
service personnel.
Behind the bar there was a naval cap band for every ship that visited
Chatham.
Under the bar were trays of watches, bill was forever selling beer on
the promise of payment against a watch.
They were fantastic people. Bill was from Wigan and Ethel from
Doncaster.
The "Royal Exchange" was a lively and very happy place to be.
Best regards,
Phill Needham. |
LICENSEE LIST
HUGHES John 1874+
UNINHABITED 1881
TOPLEY William 1882+
KYBETT Henry J 1891+ (age 56 in 1891)
KYBETT Margaret J Mrs 1901-03 (widow age 64 in 1901)
KYBETT H J Mrs 1903-13+
 
SLANEY Ernest Robert 1922-30+
L'AMIE/LAMEY William T A 1938-55+
BARKER Ethel late 1950s-mid/60s
BARKER Billy 1974ish
https://pubwiki.co.uk/RoyalExchange.shtml
From the Post Office Directory 1874
From the Post Office Directory 1882
 From
the Post Office Directory
Census
From the Post Office Directory 1903
From the Kelly's Directory 1903
From the Post Office Directory 1913
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