From the Deal, Walmer and Sandwich Mercury, 24th April, 1920

At the Dover sitting of the Wingham Petty Sessions on the 15th inst., [...] The license of the Plough, Ripple, was transferred from Harry K. Wilsher to Henry Simmons.

From the East Kent Mercury, 16 July 2015.

Pub barbecue backing for breastfeeding.

Mums from Deal Breastfeeding Support Group will host a summer barbecue to help mark World Breastfeeding Week.

It will be at the "Plough Inn" in Ripple from 3pm until 7pm on Sunday, August 2.

There will be a raffle and music from rock band Screaming Cherry.

Organiser Candice Roberts said: "Plans are fully underway now for our summer barbecue. It is a fundraising and awareness event being held in World Breast­feeding Week which is the from August 1 to August 7.

"If anyone has any items they wish to donate to the raffle, please do get in touch."

The group, who meet every Monday at St George's Church, Deal, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm, are keen fundraisers.

In June, a team of mums took part in the Colour Run at Baypoint in Sandwich raising £350 as well as the abseil down the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone, amassing £740.50 in sponsorship. The money collected will help the group as well as this year's KM Group charities.

• Get in touch at: www.facebook.com/boobgroup

From the East Kent Mercury, 16 July 2015, by Beth Robson

CAR ENTHUSIASTS INVITE TO JOIN JOLLY FUNDRAISING DRIVE.

 Classic cars are among those invited to join a rally around the east Kent countryside in aid of a prostate cancer charity.

The jolly fundraiser will start and finish at the "Plough" at Ripple on Sunday, July 26, coinciding with the popular monthly meet of classic cars.

It is the brainchild of Jonathan Bowles, who has been organising timed events for the past 20 years and scores of rallies in France.

He said: "This isn't a timed event. It's a touring assembly, so not a race strictly speaking.

"There will be four 15-mile sections and each will have a different element.

"They will have to spot code boards which they will have to note down on their control sheet.

"They will need a compass to work out which way to turn in one of the sections, in the third section they'll need to follow landmarks and the fourth section is a marked map."

The run should take two hours and entry is £10.

Mr Bowles is supporting the Mercury's Charity of the Year, Prostate Cancer Support Associtation, Kent. All proceeds go to the charity, which was formed in Deal but has helped men throughout Kent.

He said: "Classic cars meet on the last Sunday of every month. A couple of months ago I said, 'would you like me to organise a tour?'."
Jaguars, MGs and Triumphs are among those already registered and Mr Bowles is taking part in an Avenger Tiger, the works car for the 1973 Monte Carlo rally, of which only 550 were made.

"It was made for the rally but never used. There are less than 40 now."

After the rally, people can stop off, enjoy a drink or Sunday lunch in the pub, or admire people's cars in the car park opposite the pub.

• The 60-mile rally starts and finishes at the "Plough" at Ripple from 10am on Sunday, July 26. It is expected to last two hours. To enter, email Jonathan Bowles at: admin@rallydriversclub.co.uk - payment on the day.

From the Dover Mercury, 2 August 2017.

Two days of music for charity.

A weekend of music events for all the family is taking place in aid of Martha Trust, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Staff at The Plough in Ripple, which is hosting music events for the charity on Saturday.

Ripple Catering and The Plough at Ripple will be hosting their second annual Music-4Martha on Saturday from 1pm until 9pm.

The free event will include live music from Hiway, The Arkwrights, Phantom Power Band, Hugh Irvine, Graham Bell and Jonny Kempshall.

There will also be a hog roast, cakes, twinkle hair accessories and face painting, plus slushes, popcorn and candy floss by Seaside Event Hire.

The evening will include an auction with lots such as an overnight stay for two with a bespoke dinner and champagne breakfast at the Plough for a minimum bid of £150. Also listed is a Salutations Gardens dusk tour with champagne for eight people.

Hugh Irvine, owner of Ripple Catering, said: “We’ve very happy to supporting Martha for the second year running.

“We have some great musicians that have donated their time and talent. Please come down and support this worthy cause.”

A second Music4Martha will be held the next day on The Square, in Deal, hosted by the "Kings Head," "Dunkerley’s" and the "Port Arms."

The line up includes Sarah Banks, Alan Faulkner and Inferno Disco, Lofty Harris, Our-Way Rat Pack tribute and Tundra.

Solley’s Ice Cream will be serving their best selling treats. There will also be a chance to try out some henna.

The three pubs have clubbed together to donate £1,000 towards the charity. The event is also sponsored by Jenkinson Estates and Walmer Installations.

Ian Dunkerley of Dunkerley’s said: “We look forward to another great Martha day in full support of Kerry and her team.

“In line with Martha, Dunkerleys have also celebrated 30 years this year. Bring on the sunshine.”

Martha Trust, based in Hacklinge near Deal, is a registered charity providing inclusive, lifelong care for people with profound physical and learning disabilities.

Fundraising and events officer Kerry Rubins said: “Residents from all three of our homes attended both of these events last year along with their support workers and thoroughly enjoyed it.

“They will be back again this year because music unites us as a community and it’s a great way to bring our community together as one. Please come along and support us.”

Martha Trust fundraising and events officer Kerry Rubins with representatives from the King's Head, Dunkerley's and the Port Arms, left; and

■ To donate an auction or raffle prize call 01304 610448 or email kerryrublns® marthatrust.org.uk

From the East Kent Mercury, 24 July 2024.

Reporter Sam Lennon spoke to locals about life in Kent's second-smallest village, where there has been no new building developments for 64 years...

If you live in Kent’s second smallest village, you can’t nip around the comer for a loaf of bread.

There are no shops, so to buy your groceries you have to have a car or be fit enough to walk a fair distance.

The local pub is so popular that some march for almost an hour across fields to get to it - but that too is now at risk of closure.

Ripple, near Deal, has no bus service - or even main drains or a sewer.

It is home to just 154 properties - including thatched cottages dating back centuries - and has a population of 350 people, which is not set to increase any time soon.

There was large opposition to recent plans to build six new houses which, due to the lack of a sewer, would be served by cesspits. The proposals were snubbed earlier this month by district planning councillors.

Ripple is probably one of the hardest places in Kent to get anything built. The village has had no development for 64 years.

Regarding the bid for six new homes, John Caisbrook, chairman of the parish council, said: “It was the wrong development in the wrong location for the wrong village.

“It is the second smallest in Kent and has virtually no services. To put a housing estate in a village that has no public transport and has no shops does not make sense.”

The parish council, opposing the application, stressed that a car was needed for routine trips such as taking children to school, visiting GPs and entertainment trips.

Only Stourmouth, which has 291 people and is also in the Dover district, is smaller than Ripple.

To cope, locals simply adapt - getting lifts if they don’t have a car or just walking for however long it takes.

Brian Davies, landlord of the village's 18th century Plough Inn, said: “We have had no buses here for about two years. When we did they came just twice a week.

“For food, if you don’t have a car, you either get it delivered or get someone to drive you to the shops.”

Customer Andy Baldwin said: “You just have to own a car. I have to buy my food at Sainsbury’s in Deal or Tesco in Whitfield.

“But it’s lovely and peaceful in this village and when you move here you know what you are buying into.”

Barmaid Kirsty Webb lives in Walmer so walks for 15 minutes to work but prides herself on the huge popularity of the Plough Inn.

She said: “People also come here from the outlying villages. It is packed on Friday nights and full for Sunday lunches. We even have rooms for people to say over.”

Terry Coffey, 81, has had a hip replacement but most days walks to the pub for up to 50 minutes through fields from his home in St Richard’s Road in Deal.

“That’s with weather permitting,” he said.

“Otherwise, my wife and I have a car. It’s a nice, lovely pub, with good company and the people behind the bar are terrific. It’s also a nice village with nice people.”

Ripple Farms Ltd, based in the village, applied for the homes across the road from the Church Lane pub.

It would have taken over a free car park for customers using the pub and Mr Davies was one of those opposing the application.

But the landlord, who runs but does not own the Plough Inn, says the pub - despite its popularity among the punters the Mercury spoke to - will still have to close at the end of September.

Mr Davies says it cannot be saved because of general pressure on the hospitality trade and increased competition.

He added: “Also the applicants could appeal against the council’s decision and win. It is just not viable.”

Customer Paul Doolin, 62, an ex-miner from the Bettshanger and Tilmanstone Collieries in the 1980s, said: “I have been a customer here over the last 40 years and it has firmly been my local since I recently retired as a scaffolder.

Above photo showing Paul Doolin, left and Terry Coffee.

“Without this pub I feel I’d have nowhere else to go.”

The district council has made the pub, which will be exactly 300 years old next year, an asset of community value.

This was done last October and means that villagers have six months to raise money to buy it before it goes on the open market.

The scheme for the six homes was discussed at Dover District Council’s planning committee on Thursday, July 11.

It was voted against unanimously and the reasons included protecting the countryside and avoiding harm to the landscape and character of the area.

The council received 51 letters of objection and some protesters said that it would also lead to traffic congestion including from lorries emptying septic tanks.

Ripple Parish Council also said power and broadband networks are already under strain from demand, so new homes with all of the technology they will demand will be too much for the current infrastructure.

But council planners also received 15 letters of support for the application.

The writers said housing was needed, there would be no significant loss of farmland and the development would not disrupt the public or wildlife.

Planning officers had recommended approval of the scheme, which had been reduced from the original plan in 2022 for nine homes. But councillors voted to reject the proposals.

Ripple is an ancient village of Saxon origin and its name comes from ripel, an old English word for strip of land.

Julius Caesar’s army camped there after the Roman invasion of Britain in 55BC, with the landing in Deal. They dug an earth fort near the site of the present church.

Buried in the graveyard of St Mary the Virgin Church is Sir John French, the 1st Earl of Ypres, Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War.

On his former family estate is a campus for the independent Ripplevale School group for 11-to 18-year-old boys. The state Ripple Primary School closed in 2007 due to low pupil numbers.

A cottage, once named the Dovecote, bears the date of 1647. Properties in Portland Terrace in Church Lane are more than 100 years old and were originally built for farm workers. The last development in the village was Sunnyside Close, built in 1960. The present village hall was opened in the 1950s.

Ripple also has a parlour for the Solley’s Ice Cream family business and its own bar called the "Pub at Solley’s."

One of the most distinguished buildings is the privately owned Raspberry Cottage in Chapel Lane, complete with a thatched roof.

From the East Kent Mercury, 7 August 2024. By Millie Bowles.

Cherished pub in village with no shops hits market.

Historic tavern has price tag of £550,000.

A village with no shops and no buses has now seen its pub hit the market.

Historic The Plough Inn, in Ripple, near Deal, is a firm favourite of residents being one of very few facilities close by.

However the 300-year-old pub went up for sale last week with a price tag of £550,000.

Landlord Brian Davies previously told the Mercury that he was planning on closing due to general pressure on the hospitality trade and increased competition.

The tavern was listed as an asset of community value by Dover District Council last year, meaning it cannot be redeveloped.

Last month, Mercury reporter Sam Lennon visited Ripple to talk to residents about life in the village, which has no shops or a bus route.

Villagers spoke of their fondness for The Plough.

Customer Paul Doolin, 62, said: “I have been a customer here over the last 40 years and it has firmly been my local since I recently retired as a scaffolder.

“Without this pub I feel I’d have nowhere else to go.”

Terry Coffey, 81, has had a hip replacement but most days walks to The Plough for up to 50 minutes through fields from his home in St Richard’s Road in Deal.

“That’s with weather permitting,” he said.

“Otherwise, my wife and I have a car.

“It’s a nice, lovely pub, with good company and the people behind the bar are terrific.

“It’s also a nice village with nice people.”

Estate agents for the inn Miles and Barr said: “Presenting a unique investment opportunity, this property boasts a prime location with excellent potential for both commercial and residential incomes.

“The ground floor features a well-established pub with a loyal clientele, providing a solid foundation for a thriving business.

“Above the pub are four tastefully designed residential en-suite letting rooms, offering comfortable and convenient accommodation for tenants or guests.”

A bid to build six homes on a car park serving customers was recently quashed.

It was voted against unanimously at a planning meeting and the reasons included protecting the countryside and avoiding harm to the landscape and character of the area.

The council received 51 letters of objection and some protesters said that it would also lead to traffic congestion including from lorries emptying septic tanks.

Ripple is also home to a parlour for the Solley’s Ice Cream family business and its own bar called the "Pub at Solley’s."

From the East Kent Mercury, 16 August 2024. By Liane Castle.

Pub saved as homes bid refused.

A village’s only pub has been saved from closure after plans tc build six homes on its car park were refused.

The Plough Inn in Ripple announced it was shutting in July in response to an application that would have seen its car park in Church Road relocated and replaced with homes.

The plan was put forward by Ripple Farm Ltd, the company which owns the car park which was originally built to serve the pub.

After fears customers would be left with nowhere to park, landlord Brian Davies handed in his notice and the 300-year old pub was put on the market by its owners with a price tag of £550,000.

But later on in July, councillors on Dover District Council (DDC) voted unanimously against the proposals for homes at a planning meeting and the reasons included protecting the countryside and avoiding harm to the landscape and character of the area.

Mr Davies explained: “We put our notice in because of the planning application for the car park opposite.

“At the time, I thought ‘I'm going to end up with a pub with no car park’ if the plans went ahead, which everybody thought they would.

“Our next get-out clause on our contract was October but we have to give three months' notice to use that clause so we had to put the notice in before the application was heard.” When the plans were first announced, residents against the proposals feared the new-builds would lead to “chaos” on narrow country roads.

But after the plans were refused, Mr Davies said he did all he could to find a way to win the pub back.

He said: “The person who owns the pub decided they were going to close and sell it, but we then withdrew our notice and persuaded him to honour the original two years left of our contract.

“So we are open for at least another two years.

“We have had a really good reaction from the locals, they are pleased to hear we are staying.”

Although the future has been secured until 2026, Mr Davies says he is hopeful the pub will be saved beyond that.

“There is no reason why we can't stay open after that, provided they don’t appeal against the planning because if they do, and it gets approved we are stuck,” he added.

“We are hoping we can negotiate a new lease when the time comes in two years.”

The pub was listed as an asset of community value by DDC last year.

It means it cannot be redeveloped, and villagers were given the chance to submit a bid to raise the cash to buy it.

Home to just 154 properties including thatched cottages dating back centuries - Ripple is the second smallest village in Kent. But the pub has proved so popular that some march for almost an hour across fields to get to it.