The Crown

I went out for some fresh air and stopped in Staplehurst. I often go shopping here, but that's not really in the village, or I drive through to get somewhere else. So today I stopped and had a little walk.

This lovely row of houses was a pub called The Crown, the earliest record of a pub on this site dates back to the middle of the 17th century. It ceased to be a pub in 1944. It stands opposite the King's Head, which claims to be a 16th century inn, and the Kings Head is next to The Bell, which closed a few years ago and is now apartments. A few doors down from The Bell was a pub called The Lamb & Flag - that is now a private residence. This is a short length of the main street, there were other pubs further along towards the centre and then on to the railway station. I'd guess that much of the business was from people working in the hop gardens, most of which have gone now and with them the pubs.