|
67 (31) Old Dover Road
Canterbury
01227 464220
http://www.thephoenix-canterbury.co.uk/
https://whatpub.com/phoenix
Above photograph taken by Edward Wilmot in 1965. |
Above picture taken from their web site. |
Above beermat circa 1980, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe. |
 
Phoenix sign left June 1977, sign right 1980s.
 
Above sign left July 1991, and right 2012.
Above with thanks from Brian Curtis
www.innsignsociety.com
|
Originally known as the "Bridge House Tavern" standing on the Old Dover
Road on the corner of Cossington Road near to the railway bridge and dating back to 1874. The original
pub was almost destroyed by fire in 1968 but was renovated and the name
changed to that of the "Phoenix" which we know today.
|
From their web page.
The Phoenix is situated on the corner of Old Dover Road
and Cossington Road, between the County Cricket Ground and Canterbury
city centre. A Free House, The Phoenix always endeavours to stock eight
real ales, including one mild. Food is available lunchtimes and
evenings, there is outdoor seating on our beer terrace, a covered
smoking area and a patron's car park to the side.
Bob & Nilla Griffiths are now the licensees, having also been running
the "Rose & Crown" in St. Dunstans for over three years and now
transferring their attentions to The "Phoenix." While both now are
retired, Bob was previously in medical sales whilst Nilla ran two
hairdressing salons. Last owning pubs thirty-four years ago in
Rochester, including The Don Cossack, they now turn their attentions and
fondness of real ale to one of Canterbury's best known hostelries, well
loved amongst cricket fans, visitors to the city and locals alike.
Bob's family were in Pubs all his life and he learnt his cellar skills
from his step father who apart from being a Licensee had also been a
dray man for twenty-five years, and so there was nothing you could tell
him about beer, (one quote being "there are no such thing as bad beers,
just some better than others").
|
|
From the Kentish Gazette, Thursday 3rd February 1972. Kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.
Did wind cause pub boiler explosion?
The kitchen boiler explosion that rocked a Canterbury public house for
the second time in six months on Friday may have been caused by the
direction of the wind.
Mr. Bill Morgan and his wife, Betty, narrowly escaped injury. They were
serving behind the bar of the Phoenix public house, Old Dover Road, when
there was a “terrific explosion.”
“I rushed into the kitchen to find smoke billowing everywhere,” said
Mrs. Morgan."
Her daughter, Mrs. Gillian Sharp, was in bed above the kitchen.
“I heard a rumbling, then a crunching, and an explosion,” she said. “I
went outside and found a hole in the roof and the top of the chimney
stack off.” Added Mrs. Morgan: “It was fortunate no-one was in the
kitchen at the time of the explosion. The iron boiler cover was blown
right across the room and made dents in the fridge door.”
The boiler, oil-fired with an electric motor previously exploded in the
summer. It did not cause much damage that time, but the explosion hurled
pots and pans standing on the boiler all round the room.
“When a man came to fix it he said the explosion was caused by the
direction of the wind,” said Mrs. Morgan. “I cannot really believe that,
but I hope it’s not going to blow up every time it’s windy.”
|
This pub brews its own beers (2016) under the name of the "Cossack
Brewery."
Latest news from Rory Kehoe from June 2025 says the following:- It
appears that long-serving tenants, Bob & Twizzle may be retiring. The
freehold is owned by a chap called Mahmood, who lets out rooms above the
bar. Not heard any rumours (yet!) about what plans Mahmood has for the
Phoenix.
LICENSEE LIST
GOLDSMITH Tony & Daphne 1975-90
GRIFFITHS Bob & Nilla "Twizzle" 2012-25+
|
