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The Street
St Nicholas at Wade
01843 841646
https://whatpub.com/sun-inn
Above photo, date unknown, kindly sent by John George. |
Above photo, circa 1920s, kindly sent by John George. |
Above photo, date unknown, kindly sent by John George. |
Above photo circa 1960. |
Above photo kindly sent by Peter Checksfield, 2014. Showing the "Bell
Inn" on the left and the "Sun" on the right. |
Sun Inn at St. Nicholas at Wade, 2010.
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Above photo kindly supplied by Peter Checksfield, 2014. |
Above photo, 2025. |
Sun Inn sign May 1986.
Above with thanks from Brian Curtis
www.innsignsociety.com |
 
Above sign left 2004, sign right 2014..
With thanks from Brian Curtis
www.innsignsociety.com. |
Above aluminium card issued June 1951. Sign series 3 number 35. |
It is possible that a hostelry existed on the site of the present "Sun
Inn" as long ago as the 18th century.
Builder and Thatcher Stephen Wales opened a beer shop in a
dormer-windowed cottage on the site in 1850's.
By 1862 the building was known as the Sun Inn.
The present "Sun Inn" was built around 1900 by the now defunct East Kent
brewery. The Restaurant at the rear was built on the site of a 16th Century
granary.
There is an unsubstantiated story of a court martial staged in the pub
during the first world war, which resulted in the convicted man being
executed in the garden at the back. The village was teeming with soldiers
during the war, but as yet the story has not been verified.
A person who is researching the Keeler family says that their grandmother
mentioned an incident that happened at the pub to a soldier who shot himself
while cleaning his rifle when he was billeted at the pub during WW1. The
lady was 8 years old at the time and unfortunately no longer with us to gain
further information from. Further information from another person says there
was a bullet hole in it many years ago.
The pub was famous in the 1960s for its Knicker Bar, which sported ladies
underwear of all shapes and sizes from around the world. The pub was closed
and sold by Whitbread Fremlin in 1981, to reopen soon afterwards as a free
house.
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Thanet Times, Tuesday 30 March, 1965.
There is no other business like a pub.
Once you've been in the public house trade, and find that you
like it, you can never go back to anything else, says Mr. Frank
Reeves, mine host of the "Sun Inn" at St Nicholas.
Mr. Reeves, who has been the licensee of the "Sun Inn" for nearly
6 years, before moving to St. Nicholas ran a grocery business at
Hampton, Middlesex.
"I could never go back to grocery or any other trade now that I
have started in a pub," said Mr. Reeves, who added that he had known
publicans leave trade, but return to it because they missed it so
much.
Commenting on having a public house in a village, Mr. Reeves said
that when he and his wife, Sheila, decided to quit the grocery
business they set out with the sole purpose of taking a pub in a
village.
"Although Hampton is nearer London, it's still has a lot of
village charm, and before we left we decided that, rather than go to
a town, we would like to stay in a village, with all its
atmosphere," he added.
The long hours worked by Mr. Reeves leaves little time for
outside interests, but he's still tries to keep in touch with his
favourite hobby of motoring.
He is president and a founder member of Hampton and District Car
Club and, although he has not participated in one of the club's
rallies since he moved to St. Nicholas, he reports that he hopes to
go back in the not too distant future to take part in one.
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Thanet Times, Tuesday 14 June 1977.
Angry pub landlords in talks on beer shortage.
AS beer supplies in Thanet dry up in the strike by Whitbread-Fremlln's
draymen, the tenants of 330 public houses in east Kent are to hold a
mass meeting at the "Granville Hotel," Ramsgate, this (Tuesday)
afternoon.
Mrs. Enid Howard, landlady of the "Sun Inn," St. Nicholas, said:-
"We are extremely angry. The brewery has broken its agreement."
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Thanet Times, 2 August, 1977.
The "Sun Inn," St Nicholas at Wade is now under sole management of Enid
Howard.
Hungry and/or thirsty customers still required no experience necessary!
Old and new customers welcome.
A la carte menu in our Restaurant, lunch and evening, 6 days a week.
Sunday evenings only.
For table reservations phone Thanet 81665.
Bar Snacks and Ploughman's etc. always available.
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20 August 2020 licensees Tony and Wendy Wooller moved out and are taking
on another pub in Stoford, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, called the "Swan." I
believe their daughter is going to move into this pub and run it in the not
too distant future.
I am informed that the licensee from the "Bell"
over the road has taken this one on and it's reopened again on 27 August 2021.
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From the
https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Lauren Abbott, 14 July 2025.
The Sun Inn at St Nicholas-at-Wade nominated for Admiral Taverns Pub
of the Year in Great British Pub Awards.
A pub at the heart of a tiny village inhabited by just 850 people is
the only one in Kent to have reached the final stages of a national
competition.
Landlady of The Sun Inn at St Nicholas-at-Wade, Sarah Falconer, says
the local is a “huge part of the community” and “not cliquey at
all”.
Landlady Sarah Falconer and husband Mick George.
The venue, near Birchington, is a finalist at this year’s Great
British Pub Awards.
Sarah said: “The closest to us is someone in Essex - we are the only
Kent pub.
“We are really proud, it’s pretty great.”
Having worked in the village for the last 25 years, Sarah and her
team were running both the "Sun Inn" and neighbouring pub the "Bell Inn"
until the start of this year, when Sarah decided to focus solely on
just one venue in the village.
Since then, she says things have gone from strength to strength with
the "Sun" offering everything from “fantastic food” to live
entertainment and comedy nights.
According to the last census, just over 800 people are registered as
living in the tiny village just outside Birchington.
“Everything is locally sourced, cooked by fantastic chefs” Sarah,
41, added.
There are also coffee mornings for older people - while Sarah
herself has been known to lend a hand in the nearby village shop
when its owner was taken ill - so passionate is she about fostering
a true community spirit among those in her tiny neighbourhood.
With the dog-friendly pub drawing in everyone from loyal locals to
passing tourists as well as ‘foodies’ from further afield, Sarah
promises all are guaranteed a warm welcome.
She said: “We are a huge part of the community.
“It’s not cliquey at all, it’s lovely. It’s such a friendly pub and
a lovely village.”
The Sun Inn at St Nicholas-at-Wade is the only venue in Kent to have
made the Great British Pub Awards final.
An example of just how much everyone cares for each other, recalls
Sarah, was on her wedding day when she and husband Mick - who
doesn’t work in the pub trade - got married before a packed
congregation who arrived simply through word of mouth.
“I got married in the village a few years ago and we didn’t send a
single invitation and yet… you couldn’t get in the church for
people!” she said.
“It’s so different here.”
The Sun Inn is now awaiting a ‘secret shopper’ style judge to visit,
after which Sarah will be interviewed for a final time, before
winners are announced at a glitzy ceremony in Leeds at the end of
September that promises to bring together ‘the very best’ in the
sector.
But while the lure of a night out - a rare treat for publicans - is
on the horizon, Sarah said it’s just an honour to have got this far.
Landlady Sarah Falconer pictured with her team.
The outside area of the pub in St Nicholas-at-Wade.
She said: “I have a fantastic team, they have all worked for us for
years.
“Just to get to the final six is an achievement.”
The Sun is among six venues from across the UK vying for the title
of Admiral Taverns Pub of the Year - which have all been nominated
by the pub group from among the 1,600 venues it owns.
And among 100 finalists across all 17 award categories - which also
include Best Pub Garden, Best Pub to Watch Sport, Best Pub for Dogs
and Best Country Pub - The Sun Inn remains the only Kent watering
hole to have made it to the final rounds. |
LICENSEE LIST
WALES Stephen 1847-82+ (age 70 in 1881 )
WALES Elizabeth Miss 1890-91+ (age 51 in 1891)
MILES Robert Henry 1899-1903+
(age 31 in 1901)
 
KEELER David George 1911-22+ (age 46 in 1911)
 
KIMBER Mrs Ada 1930-38+
  
REEVES Frank 1959-65+
HOWARD Enid 1977+
???? Martin & Katherine 2011+
WOOLLER Tony & Wendy to Aug/2020
Tony & Wendy's daughter Aug/2020
FALCONER Sarah 27/Aug/2021-25 (also "Bell")
https://pubwiki.co.uk/Sun.shtml
From
the Kelly's Directory 1899
From the Kelly's Directory 1903
From the Post Office Directory 1918
From the Post Office Directory 1922
From the Post Office Directory 1930
From
the Kelly's Directory 1934
From the Post Office Directory 1938
Census
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