I DON'T care to recall how many times I heard it said over the past 40 odd years I have worked for the Express that Dover once had many pubs that there was one for every day of the year!

But no one that I have spoken to has been able to verify the claim, whatever may have been written in another local newspaper.

By a strange coincidence I heard recently from Mr D. E. Wyborn of Mansfield Ave, Denton, Manchester, who has Dover links.

Writing on the subject of the multitude of Dover public houses there used to be, he enclosed a handwritten list and also a duplicated list of pubs, with their locations, but unfortunately without a date. But there were nowhere near 300, let alone 365.

I have a similar list, dating from about 1900, when there were 242 public houses and hotels, which was probably quite enough! I also have a fair size collection of photographs of old Dover public houses, including many of the George Beer Brewery's 'retained pubs.'

(I have not yet seen this list, but would think that it contained pubs and hotels from just outside the Dover area. My own research has shown a total of 697 pub names, within Dover alone, (May 2018) obviously many changing name during their existence, but the maximum in any one year being 233 in 1870. Paul Skelton). Check this Excel Spreadsheet. Click here to download and open.

Mr Wyborn is hoping that someone will publish a book on the public houses - just as Martin Easdown and Eamonn Rooney did last year featuring the Folkestone district 'locals.'

This was "Tales from the Tap Room" published by Marlin Publications, of Seabrook and printed by A. R. Adams & Sons (Printers) Ltd, of Dour Street, Dover In a limited edition of 100.

To find an adequate supply of old pictures for a similar book on Dover's public houses would, take a lot of work. But a much has been already been done on the history of the 'locals' by Barry Smith who, early In 1979 brought out a brief history of pubs and hotels In Dover called "By the Way," although to the best of my recollection I have never seen a copy!

Time for an update, perhaps? At least it might dispel that often repeated and irritating myth!

Mr Wyborn sent me a copy of this old photo, of the "Carriers Arms", presumably in Dover, with a large group of people in a 'Father' Wills' of Cheriton "Pullman" coach set to go on an outing, with an equally big crowd of children standing in front of it.

My thanks are due to a member of the Doble family, of Longfield Road, who passed on to me, some time ago, part of an old illustrated Dover guide, printed in sepia, which Is full of fascinating old pictures all dating from around 1898/9 which was about the time this particular publication was published by J. S. Rochard & Co, of Gravesend and Fakenham, Norfolk. Copies of "Illustrated and historical Dover" are sometimes found in second-hand book shops.

A similar book "Historical Dover, descriptive Pictorial" by the editor of the "Agents Guide" was published about 1891, by Robinson, Son and Pike, publishers, of Duke Street, Brighton, London and Birmingham. Both have the same, full page, back cover, an advertisement for Kent Insurance Offices. Both guides to Dover, are possibly from the same 'stable' as the once familiar Dover "Blue Books" or Pike's street directories, a mine of Information for local history buffs and now quite difficult to find.