From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Nicola Jordan, 1 November 2022.

Rochester pub The "Who'd Ha' Thought It" hosts fitting send-off for former landlady of The Greyhound.

For decades, landlady Wendy Stenhouse served up sound advice, good grub and pints at her traditional back street boozer.

She even took one regular out clothes shopping when she didn't approve of his fashion sense, and she and late husband Bill used to go on holidays abroad with their customers.

Wendy Stenhouse, landlady of The Greyhound, Rochester, on her 60th birthday.

For many, the couple were the heart of the local community and when husband Bill died, Wendy decided to stay on running The Greyhound in Rochester single-handedly.

But in 2002, she called time on the pub sandwiched between a row of terraced houses in Rochester Avenue.

After taking up lodgings at nearby Watts Almshouses with her beloved pet dog, Fudge, she was diagnosed with dementia and her health deteriorated.

Her final days were spent at Pembury Hospital and – without any immediate family and the pandemic – for probably for the first time in her life, she was alone.

Wendy passed away in August, aged 81.

Her funeral at Medway Crematorium nearly two months later could have easily been a sad occasion with just fellow landlady Wendy Latham and Christine, a warden from the Rochester home witnessing the internment.

Raising a glass to Wendy Stenhouse.

But thanks to their efforts they mustered fellow publicans, regulars and some who had never met her, to give her a fitting send-off.

After the service, about 40 well-wishers raised a glass or two for her at The Who'd Ha' Thought It pub in Rochester.

It was here, another back street local in nearby Baker Street, that many poured out their memories.

Chris Henbest, 67, recalls his first visit as a lad of 14 when his dad bought him "a cheeky bottle of shandy".

He said: "Frankly, with the money I spent there over the years, I could have paid for the funeral.

Chris Henbest and wife Angie.

"Wendy had a great sense of humour and said she would not wear big knickers until her 60th birthday.

"There was a party at the pub on her 60th and I bought her the biggest pants I could find, which she found very funny."

Another regular, Frank Maskell, recalled his shopping trips to Hempstead Valley with Wendy.

He said: "She said I had no dress sense and needed to smarten up with some new clothes."

Wendy was a member of the women's branch of the Licensed Victuallers' Association and several current and former landladies turned up to pay their respects.

Pauline Marriott, who has run the "Cannon" in Brompton for 40 years, said there is a strong camaraderie among the women.

She said: "Us old girls have got to stick together. Community is the key word among publicans.

"With Covid I thought the funeral must have happened and I had missed it.

"I don't think people change, I think people's circumstances change. People still need a sense of belonging which is where pubs play a vital part."

Linda Hughes met Wendy as they walked their dogs and formed a friendship when they became neighbours at the home in Maidstone Road.

Landladies past and present say goodbye to their colleague Wendy Stenhouse.

She said: "She loved jazz and we used to go out for meals. She spent a couple of Christmases with me and my family. Nobody would have wanted to see her on her own without a family."

During the 90s, The Greyhound was active in the KM Pub Quiz league and the team scooped the top prize in 1994.

Winning quiz team 1994 - (from left) Peter Willcox, Frank Maskell, Paul Brooks,Wendy Stenhouse and Maria Kelly.

Wendy's food won her a good reputation and on quiz nights she dished up hearty pub grub, like shepherd's pie and stews, rather than nibbles.

Maria Kelly, 63, a retired civil servant became friends with Wendy and Bill when she moved in a few doors away.

She said: "I was proud to be a part of the quiz team.

Wendy Stenhouse with her dog Fudge.

"The Greyhound was such a community pub when they ran it, and it is much missed. You always got a warm welcome."

Liz Shiers, who runs the "Who 'd Ha' Thought It" and hosted the wake, added: "Unfortunately I never knew her. But she was another landlady and there aren't many of us around these days."

The women who have formed a close bond and raised thousands of pounds for charity agreed that leaving the licensing trade left "a big hole" in Wendy's life.

Pub regulars (from left,) Peter Willcox,Frank Maskell and Brian Stanley.

Wendy Latham. a former LVA chairman who used to run the "White Horse" in Borstal, said: "It's very sad.

"She spent her last days at Pembury Hospital where she seemed to get lost in the system. With no family, she was nobody's responsibility.

"It was like 'no room at the inn'.

Wendy Stenhouse with her puppy Phoebe.

"After serving the community for so long, at least we gave her the send-off she so well deserved."

The Greyhound, which used to have a public and saloon bar and a function room upstairs, has now been converted into two terraced homes.

Traditionally, the public bar tended to be noisier, full of smoke, and for working people, mainly male. Clientele of the saloon were typically older, better dressed, often couples, and the ambience was more refined with armchairs, rather than wooden chairs.