Model Tavern

Latest 1989

54 Northgate Street

Canterbury

Above photo, celebrating the Armistice in 1918, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.

Above photo, 1961, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.

Above photograph taken by Edward Wilmot in 1965.

Above photo, 1989, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.

Above picture from Google, July 2009, showing the former "Model Tavern."

Above photo kindly sent by Leonie Seliger, May 2014.

Above photo, August 2017, kindly taken and sent by Rory Kehoe.

Above sign 1961.

The above sign, wasn't actually designed and released by Whitbread, but has been designed by Robert Greenham in the same style as the card sets they distributed as a representation of what the sign looked like. Robert says:- This was based on the image which appeared on Whitbread's metal map for East Kent which was painted by D. W. Burley in 1950, on commission from Whitbread.

The above metal map, kindly sent by Robert Greenham was released, in 1950 and painted by D. W. Burley, and was titled Inn-Signia of Whitbread Houses in East Kent, Whitbread & Co Ltd. The Inn Signs designed by:- M. C. Balston, Vena Chalker, Kathleen M Claxton, K. M. Doyle, Ralph Ellis, Marjorie Hutton, Harvey James, Prudence Rae-Martin, Violet Rutter, L. Toynbee and Kit Watson.

In 1838 the pub was listed with the name of the "Plasterer's Tavern," and in 1888 as the "Princess Louise." Eventually by 1897 it became the "Model Tavern."

According to Edward Wilmot's book "Inns of Canterbury" published 1988, the inn closed in 1989. Probably to the relief of the customers as it is reputed that the inn-keeper around about 1964 was in the habit of cutting off the end of his customers ties and using them to decorate his bar with.

From the Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald. 14 April 1900. Price 1d.

DEATH FROM OVERLAYING

The Canterbury Coroner (Dr. T. S. Johnson) held an inquest at the "Model Tavern," Northgate, on Friday evening, touching the death of Sarah Louisa Scamp, aged three months.

Sarah Louisa Scamp, mother of deceased, deposed that the child was taken ill on the previous Saturday, and she took it to Dr. Brian Rigden, who gave her a bottle of medicine. Mr. Rigden advised witness to get a Dispensary paper, but she did not do so, and on Monday she went to Mr. Frank Wacher and got a bottle of medicine from him. The next day she got a Dispensary paper and Mr. Brian Rigden again prescribed for the deceased. Witness got so tired sitting up nursing the child that she went to bed that night with the deceased. Witness woke up at five o'clock in the morning and covered the child's hand over, and then she fell to sleep only to wake at 7.30 to find the child dead. She sent for Mr. Brian Rigdan almost immediately. The child was christened. Witness' husband was serving in South Africa with the Militia Battalion of the East Kent Regiment.

Mr. Brian Rigden stated that the child when brought to him was not in his opinion dangerously ill. He had made an external examination, but had not found any marks of violence. From what the mother had told witness as to the position she found the deceased he was of opinion that death was due to suffocation caused by overlaying.

The jury returned a verdict accordingly.

From an email received 1 May 2026.

I recall that among its erudite congregation was the late Rev Robert Hugh Mansfield-Willams who passed away on 24 March 1986.

The Reverend Hugh Mansfield-Williams was the type of vicar who gives the Church of England a good name.

Community-minded to a fault, his summer garden fêtes were legendary, offering visitors a variety of challenges, from a fairground coconut shy to transferring dried peas from one plate to another using only a straw.

In retirement, he retained his enthusiasm for ministering to his flock by visiting the "Model Tavern" in Northgate, Canterbury, where his absences from St John’s Cottages were explained to his housekeeper as “a visit to the dairy”.

A splendid sense of humour endeared him to people of all ages. He could be as charming to a disaffected teenager as he was to a visiting bishop. Ever optimistic, he always put the emphasis on the edible part of the curate’s egg.

There was no other choice to lead the service to bless the 25th wedding anniversary of my parents, and he played a full part in the life of my family. In the turbulent era of 1960s rebellious youth, all three Foley brothers paid heed to his advice and fully respected his contributions to discussions around the dinner table.

A graduate of Selwyn College, Hugh Mansfield-Williams was open to debate on almost any subject. The only time I remember him being partisan was during the weekend of the Boat Race, when his loyalty to Cambridge was manifest—eminently forgivable if you had seen his study at home. It contained numerous editions of the Authorised Version and, on the wall, an oar from the Selwyn College 2nd VIII boat, duly inscribed with his name.

The life of Hugh Mansfield Williams offered strong evidence of the symbiotic relationship between pubs and churches. Before burdensome employment taxes and commercial rates devastated the hospitality sector in East Kent, the links between places blessed by an Archbishop or Cardinal and those blessed by Shepherd Neame or Fremlins were much in evidence. A Sunday morning congregation would take minimal exercise to transfer its attention from vicar to landlord in quick succession.

Hugh Mansfield-Williams was certainly an attraction at the "Model Tavern," where his gentle guidance over a pint of best was just as effective as any stern sermon delivered before a taste of communion wine. There was no shortage of erudite and interesting contributions from other regulars, including Colonel George Easton, a veteran of the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940; Major Derek Pulsen of the BBC World Service and formerly the Buffs; Warwick Wride of Southern Television; “Humph” from the genealogical centre; and landlord Mike Beasley, who gained a world record for drinking the most cups of tea—before my father took him to the Accident and Emergency Centre at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

On holy ground and on licensed premises, Hugh Mansfield-Williams will be remembered with great affection in Canterbury as a man of the Church and a man of the people.

David Foley.

LICENSEE LIST

GREENMAN George Henry 1901-03+ (age 46 in 1901)