Above postcard, circa 1900.

Above photo, date unknown, kindly sent by Tessa Leeds.

From http://www.sevenoakswealdpc.kentparishes.gov.uk/weald-in-ww1/ accessed 25/8/2018.

In 1917 the decapitated body of 34 year old Frank Tuffley of The Buffs, a married m an with two children and now stationed in Tonbridge, was found on the line near the Sevenoaks tunnel. He had just been inoculated against tetanus but the Doctor, called as a witness, discounted the inoculation as a cause of depression. His father described him as a happily married man with a happy home life and about to report to Maidstone before going to France. At an inquest held at the "Prince of Wales Inn" the jury, with William Pearson of Morleys Farm as foreman, returned a verdict of “suicide whilst temporarily insane”.

PUBLIC HOUSES OF THE WEALD by Tessa Leeds.

The Weald, like many other villages, once boasted more Public Houses that it does in the present day. The reason for there being so many in the first place was due to the Government passing The Beer Shop Act of 1830. This Act enabled virtually any householder to produce beer on his/her own premises for sale, providing that an annual excise fee was paid.

THE PRINCE OF WALES. Morlev's Road.

Reputedly constructed under common law which said that if a squat had a roof, four walls and a fire burning in the hearth, having arrived at that state within 24 hours from the commencement of building, then it should be allowed to stand, the Prince of Wales has always been known by locals as 'The Shant'. There may have been a previous building in the general vicinity put up to serve the workers on the brickworks which were in existence by 1840. The present building is thought to date from the time of the railway construction, being 1863 - 1868, as there are many newspaper reports referring to it. The property is still remembered as having an earth floor in the 1930s. In the 1950s and 1960s the West Kent Hunt met there. The Prince of Wales remained a beer shop, not obtaining a spirit license until the 1960s, but is still a 'Free House’.

Further notes.

The Prince of Wales Morleys Road locally known as the 'Shant' was a railway construction accommodation allowed to sell beer to its inhabitants build for railway 1863 - 8 construction became a restaurant I think in the 2000's.