DIAMOND Pubs of Dover

DOVER KENT ARCHIVES

Sort file:- Dover, January, 2026.

Page Updated:- Wednesday, 07 January, 2026.

PUB LIST

PUBLIC HOUSES

Barry Smith and Paul Skelton

Earliest 1901

Diamond

26 Aug 2023

79 Heathfield Avenue

Dover

01304 204527

https://whatpub.com/diamond

Diamond circa 1987 (Photo by Paul Skelton)

Diamond sign August 1991.

Above with thanks from Brian Curtis www.innsignsociety.com

Diamond outing, date 1961, kindly supplied by Glynn Virtue and Stuart Kinnon who says his uncle, Rod Withers, stood second left, third row up, next to the old gentleman leaning on the car.

Diamond Hotel taken circa 1920. Picture from the John Gillham collection.

Above, Diamond Hotel circa 1980 photo by Barry Smith.

E. Dawes and Sons were apparently faced by an obliging Bench when they asked for a licence in 1896. It was for a house they intended building here. As a sweetener they offered to surrender the "Grand Shaft Inn" and under those circumstances any opposition must have melted.

At that time Dawes and Sons ran the "Diamond Brewery" at Maxton where their KK ale was supplied to the public at one shilling per gallon. The pub obviously perpetuates the name.

W. Baker the first licensee and a Whitbread-Fremlin house serving us to-day.

Dover Express 24 January 1902.

DEATH. BAKER.

On January 22nd, at the "Diamond Hotel," Barton-Road, Dover, after a long and patient illness, Jane, the beloved wife of W. B. Baker, aged 56 years.

From the Dover Express, Friday 20 August, 1926.

Special Sessions for the transfer of licences were held at the Dover Police Court on Friday, before Messrs. W. B. Brett, T. Francis, H. J, Burton, and S. Lewis, when the following transfers were made:-

The “Diamond Hotel," Heathfield Avenue, from Mr. Edwin George Alexander to Mr. George Thomas Tasker, late of the “Town Arms," Bridge Street, Dover.

From the Dover Express. 18 June 1948.

DOVER MAGISTRATES.

Dover Magistrates on Friday approved the following applications for alterations to licensed premises:-

The enlargement of public bar by removal of partition; conversion of passage way at the "Diamond Hotel" into a jug and bottle department, and to remove a partition from existing jug and bottle department to enlarge the public bar.

From the Dover Express and East Kent News, Friday 5 November, 1965.

No wonder they look happy - members of the Diamond Skittle Club who collected a lion's share of the trophies at the Dover League's presentation night at Folkestone on Friday.

Names, unfortunately as yet unknown.

From the Dover Express 6 February 2003. By Nadine Miller.

Landlords will unite

Fears of red-tape as council takes over licensing.

PUB landlords in Dover have formed a pressure group over new laws they claim will bankrupt bars, clubs and restaurants.

The local Licensed Victuallers' Association estimates administration costs will increase by £15,000 when Dover District Council takes over, largely due to increased red tape.

Peter Docherty, 49, the chairman of the LVA and landlord of The Diamond in Beaconsfield Road, said: "Businesses will go to the wall unless everyone acts.

"To get a licence a person will have to present a business plan drawn up by a solicitor.

"We agree with these sort of details in principle but it's the red tape and cost which will hit every pub, club and restaurant in the district." Mr Docherty added his association estimated the cost to each business at £15,000, including lawyers fees and new licence applications, while pubs and social clubs would have to pay for a performing licence even though some of them did not play live music.

As chairman of the LVA in Dover Mr Docherty wants to get involved at local council level to help the steering group which will finalise the changes to the law and is urging other local businesses to get behind him.

DDC's Mark Pledger said: "We're awaiting the outcome of the legislation policies.

"Until we know the full ramifications of the act we cannot really say one way or another except to say we will be working as part of the Kent working licence forum which will cover the implications."

To join the LVA campaign please call Mr Docherty on 01304 240527.

From the Dover Express, February 27 2003.

PARCELS for troop fighting in Iraq have been pouring into the Dover Express office.

Many people around the town are not only donating goods but organising events to make sure the soldiers are supported.

Members of many regiments, including the Dover Paras, will be sent the-gift boxes. The Diamond Pub will host a Troops Day on Saturday to raise money. The pubs manager Mo Docherty's daughter, Rayna, is stationed in the Gulf. A collection will be taken for the children of Iraq for after the conflict.

Churches and military organisations have come forward to help with the appeal.

From the Dover Express, 3 March 2003.

APPEAL: The Diamond organised a Troops Day

Readers' donations flooding in.

GENEROUS donations have flooded into the Dover Express office and The Diamond pub in Dover to help the troops in the war.

The appeal to send vital supplies such as baby wipes, eye-drops and treats to the men and women fighting in Iraq began two weeks ago.

One reader moved to donating a parcel to the Express office is 42-year old housewife Ann Stepney. She said: "We're an ex-Army family and it brings back a lot of memories. My husband served but I was lucky because he never saw anything like the war in Iraq. Making a donation is just our way of helping out in a small way from the family."

The Diamond pub is run by Peter and Mo Docherty, whose daughter Rayna is serving in the Gulf with the Black Watch. They decided to organise a Troops Day at the weekend for customers to donate presents for the soldiers and to collect gifts for the children of Iraq once the fighting stops.

From the Dover mercury 21 May 2009.

Hitting the target with donations for hospice

Sue Chaplin, NigeI Donkin and Bev Chaplin with the £716 cheque for the Pilgrims Hospice from the Diamond pub.

MONEY raised by local darts players has been presented to the Pilgrims Hospice.

Sue Chaplin and her daughter Bev, from the Diamond pub in Dover, handed over a cheque for £716 on behalf of the Dover Darts League. The money had been raised during the winter season in charity box collections.

The Pilgrims Hospice was chosen as the league's charity for the year after one of Dover's greatest-ever dart players, Sue's husband Calvin Chaplin, lost his battle against cancer. The Diamond raised £98 of the winter total, a great effort by the team.

Mrs Chaplin said: "I would like to thank all the darts players of Dover for supporting the Pilgrims Hospice in memory of Calvin. They deserve every Penny."

Nigel Donkin, who received the cheque for the hospice, also thanked the league players.

Organisers of the dart league are hoping the total will reach £1,500 by the end of the summer.

From a posting on Facebook, received 17 September 2018.

It's with a sad heart that I write that my father in law ex police superintendent John Wallace passed away on Thursday 13 the September 2018.

He was a CID officer and then uniform superintendent for Dover division and responsible for many royal visits.

He recalled fondly his memories and responsibility during the Queen Mother's installation as Lord Warden of the Cinque ports and other visits.

Stephen Rebbeck.

Pamela Buddle says:- I remember John. He was very friendly with Pat and Arther in the "Fox" at Temple Ewell; spent many a good night there with them. He went on to run the Diamond in Heathfield.

John Barrington says:- So sorry to hear that. He was a lovely man. I used to enjoy having a drink in "Churchills" club with him years back. I could spend an evening just listening. A very nice man with a fascinating past in the police. Sad to hear of his passing.

Maureen Rebbeck says:- He left the diamond in 1991 and moved to Cumbria for about 10 years before returning to Dover.

Closed on Saturday 26th August 2023. Sold by the brewery for redevelopment. Another locals pub gone forever.

Latest information known tells it's been applied for a change of use to a retail shop. Least it's not more flats.

From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Millie Bowles, 18 September 2023.

The Diamond pub in Dover’s Heathfield Avenue goes on the market.

A 122-year-old hilltop pub which “could be considered for development” is on the market.

The Diamond in Dover has been listed for £250,000 after the owners packed up and pulled the last pint on August 26.

In 1901, the boozer in Heathfield Avenue was opened by a brewery of the same name and originally had hotel rooms as well as a bar.

The inn is set over three floors and has views of Dover Castle.

Estate agent Everard Cole said: “The main garden is extensive and consists of a smoking shed, games room and allotment. There is a large area laid to grass, which could comfortably seat 100 customers on bench-style seating, which looks up to the pub on the hill.

“Alternatively the area could be considered for development, subject to planning.”

The building is “traditionally decorated” with a basement cellar and private kitchen.

The garden of The Diamond in Dover. Picture: Rightmove.

There are three bedrooms upstairs along with a lounge and bathroom.

As well as this there is a decking area to the front of the tavern with bench seating and to the side is a gate leading down steps to the rear.

Halfway down these steps is a small paved area with views across the town’s hills and suburbs.

Apparently now (2025) operating as a shop with Off-licence.

From the East Kent Mercury, 28 February 2024. By Sam Lennon.

A former pub with a dark past after it became the focus of a murder investigation could fee turned into a shop.

The now-closed Diamond in Heathfield Avenue, Dover was taken over by the same detective who dealt with the case just a year later.

Now the present owner has put in a planning application for its conversion into a grocery store.

Thirukulatharasan Pratheepan, who bought the premises in January, has put forward plans to use it to sell groceries, alcohol and cigarettes.

The application, submitted to the council earlier this month, lists the proposed opening times of 6am to 10pm seven days a week.

The three-storey premises has 80sq m (861sq ft) of floor-space with 69.4sq m (747sq ft) expected to be used for trading.

The overall site is 973sq m (10,473sq ft) including the former beer garden.

The Diamond Hotel, which had been a pub since 1901, was opened by a brewery of the same name and originally had hotel rooms.

It was for decades known in the town for holding onion and leek competitions every October.

Winners produced giant specimens with some of the onions being the size of bowling balls.

An onion and leek club met there every month and the pub stood out on the hillside with its name written on the sloping roof.

But the pub’s grisly past saw its landlord killed in 1979 when Supt John Wallace was called in to investigate.

The victim's wife was later acquitted of his murder and by coincidence Mr Wallace took over running the premises in March 1980, staying there until 1991.

The pub closed last August 26 and was put on the market by the following month for £250,000.

Supt Wallace, who died in 2018, was also involved in probing one of Dover’s most notorious unsolved murders.

Valere Osmond, a 33-year-old mother-of-five, disappeared from her home in Temple Ewell in February 1968.

Her stabbed body was found in an underground reservoir in Guston on August 25,1970.

Soldiers helped police search the area but Mr Wallace, by then a Det Ch Insp, and his colleagues were unable to find the murderer.

The perpetrator was never caught despite the efforts of generations of officers after Mr Wallace.

When the case was re-highlighted in 1996 the veteran journalist Terry Sutton, who died earlier this month, said he wanted at least a “deathbed confession” from the person responsible.

He believed he knew who it was but it could not be proved.

The planning application is awaiting a decision.

From the East Kent Mercury, 25 September 2024. By Sam Lennon.

An historic pub which was once the centre of a murder probe has now been transformed into a grocery store.

An historic pub which was once the centre of a murder probe has now been transformed into a grocery store.

The Diamond, in Dover, closed last year after struggling financially following a trend of rising costs.

It was put on the market and later purchased by Thirukulatharasan Pratheepan, who has turned the space into a convenience store.

Mr Pratheepan says he wants to honour the history of the former pub, which was once the focus of a murder investigation after its landlord was killed. He said: “This is such a historic place and I hadn’t known until I looked it all up on the internet.

“The pub had been part of the community for so long I decided not to change its frontage because the locals would feel they have lost something.

“But now they have a new store when the nearest had been down a steep hill. ”

Mr Pratheepan has even kept the core name, with the new business being called The Diamond Stores.

The pub had originally opened with rooms as The Diamond Hotel in 1901.

In 1979 the then landlord was killed there and his wife was later acquitted of his murder.

The police officer prominent in the investigation was Supt John Wallace, who in 1980 became its landlord, until 1991.

The late Mr Wallace had been well-known locally for investigating one of Dover’s most notorious unsolved murders.

That was of Valerie Osmond, 33, who disappeared in Temple Ewell in 1968 and her stabbed body was found in an underground reservoir in Guston two years later. The killer has never been brought to justice.

The Diamond was also famous for holding annual onion club competitions with top prizes going for the biggest specimens. Some were the size of bowling balls.

The pub closed on August 26 last year and was put on the market the following month for £250,000.

Mr Pratheepan bought the premises in January. He applied to convert it in February for a business selling groceries, alcohol and cigarettes.

His application agent, MKM Design & Construction of Uxbridge, London, explained to Dover District Council (DDC) that the pub was no longer viable, ending up in continual financial decline.

It explained this was due to a loss of sports teams using it, such as for darts, skittles, and pool, plus continual rise in gas and electricity bills and barrels of beer.

Some neighbours commenting on the council's planning portal were glad the property would not become homes but others feared parking problems in the area.

Kim Holland said: “I'm pleased it has not been turned into bedsits or flats.

“However, I am concerned about how a shop will increase congestion of local traffic on Heathfield Avenue, a road that is usually down to a single lane due to cars parked on both sides. Customers or delivery drivers not finding anywhere to park may block the road, further increasing the problem.”

MKM argued that most of the customers would be local residents. Also the pub customers would park on-street for hours and drivers now using the shop would only be there for five to 10 minutes.

Its report summed up: “The number of vehicles coming to the pub is more than the number of vehicles coming to the shop. Therefore, the change of use from pub to retail shop will reduce the impact of on-street parking.”

LICENSEE LIST

BAKER Mr William B 1901-Apr/03 (age 53 in 1901)