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The Street
St Nicholas at Wade
01843 847250
https://whatpub.com/bell-inn
Above photo, circa 1907, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe. |
Above postcard, date unknown. |
 Above postcard, 1911, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.
Hare Coursing. |
Above postcard, circa 1936, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe. |
Above postcard, circa 1958, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe. |
Above photo, Boxing Day 1967, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.
The first tour made by Wantsum Morris Men. |
Line drawing by Dewys Lefevre, 1988. |
Above photo taken from Google Maps 2011.
 
Bell sign left May 1986. Sign right 2014.
Above with thanks from Brian Curtis
www.innsignsociety.com |
Above beermat, date unknown, kindly sent by Mike L. |
The Bell Inn has a relatively modern frontage, but the interior
cross-beams give away the Tudor origins. The earliest reference to the Inn
is 1622, when the landlord was William Chambers but at that time it was
called the "Hare
and Hounds."
Reference has also been found in the Wingham Division Ale Licence list,
which shows the "Bell," St Nicholas, to be granted a new licensed for the sum of
16 shillings in
1740. It may have
The Bell Inn has a history of smuggling activity. When William of Orange
was en route to Holland, he described St Nicholas as having a smuggling
fraternity. A tunnel reputedly led from the pub's cellar to the church,
where contraband was discovered in the storeroom, the key to which was in
the possession of the landlord of the "Bell."
By 1777 the pub was leased to the Cobb Brewery in Margate. In 1798 Cobb
acquired the freehold from the Bridges family. Whitbread took them over
early 1968 and closed the brewery later that year.
Over the centuries the "Bell Inn" has been used for all sorts of parish
business, from auctions to vestry meetings and even coroner's inquests.
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Dover Chronicles 14 March 1846.
House Breaking.
Early on the morning of the 7th inst., the dwelling house of Henry
Durrant, known as the "Bell," at St. Nicholas, in the Isle of
Thanet, was broken into, and 4 gallons of gin, 2 gallons of British
brandy, 3 gallons of rum, some foreign brandy, and about 1 gallon of
shrub were taken away. The above liquor was in stone bottles, marked
on the bottle "Law and Cob, Spirit Merchant, Margate. They likewise
stool about 30lb of pickled pork, and escaped undetected, leaving a
pickaxe and a large stick, which had been used to commit the
depredation. The constable of the district has been actively
employed in endeavouring to find out the deprecators but as yet
without affect.
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Dover Chronicles 30 January 1847.
An inquest was held on the 20th instant, by Mr. Dellasaux, at St.
Nicholas at Wade, on the body of Sarah Durrant, whose sudden death,
under suspicious circumstances, had given rise to various
conflicting rumours.
It appears that the deceased with her husband and son had been
drinking at the "Bell" public house till they were all intoxicated,
and the husband as one of the witnesses stated, ordered the son to
put his mother out of the doors and let her perish. This, however,
the son denied. Be it as it may, the deceased died in the night.
On examination by Mr. Freeman a surgeon, some hours after death,
deceased's jaw and left arm were found bruise, and the neck
dislocated; but he stated that the injury in her neck might have
been occasions by a fall. There being no positive proof of violence
on the part of anyone, the jury, after hearing evidence at
considerable length, could come to the only conclusion that the
deceased death was "accidental." Coupled with this verdict the jury
expressed there disapprobation of the manner in which the "Bell"
public house is conducted, and which that the magistrates, at the
next licensing day, would withhold the licence from the present
occupier.
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Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald, 9 April 1870.
ST. NICHOLAS.
A melancholy accident occurred on Sunday last to a labourer named
Stephen Jones. He resided in a hut on the St. Nicholas marshes, and had
been married about twelve months. He had one child who was to have been
christened on that day. While his wife was busy getting the dinner ready
he went out to get a bucket of water, which he brought back to the hut,
and then went out again. When the dinner was ready his wife went to call
him, but to her great astonishment found him in the dyke, and vainly
endeavoured to get him out. The poor woman then ran to her nearest
neighbour, who lived no less then a mile distant, and returned in about
half an hour, when she with the assistance of her companion, at last
succeeded in getting him out, but it was too late, as he was found to be
quite dead. The unfortunate man had been subject to fits, but had not
suffered from one for more than three years. The inquest was held at the
"Bell Inn, St. Nicholas, on Tuesday last, and a verdict returned of
"Found drowned.”
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LICENSEE LIST
JOHNCOCK James 1740+
DURRANT Henry 1846+
BRETT Edwin 1847-61+
(master carpenter & victualler age 35 in 1861 )
NASH Richard 1855-62+
BEAKE Henry 1867-74+ (age 52 in 1871)
BUSHELL Samuel John 1881-82+ (age 43 in 1881)
JARMAN Thomas 1890-97+ (age 53 in 1901)
HADDAWAY Albert Edward 1897-03+
 (age 33 in 1901) 
CARLINE Frederick Leonard 1911-34+ (age 58 in 1911)
   
BROWN Joseph Matthew 1938+
???? Danny & Marion 2011+
FALCONER Sarah 2021+ (also "Sun")
https://pubwiki.co.uk/Bell.shtml
From Wingham Division Ale Licences 1740 Ref: KAO - QRLV 3/1
From
Bagshaw Directory 1847
From Melville's Directory 1858
From
the Kelly's Directory 1899
From the Kelly's Directory 1903
From the Post Office Directory 1918
From the Post Office Directory 1922
From the Post Office Directory 1930
From
the Kelly's Directory 1934
From the Post Office Directory 1938
Census
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