DOVER KENT ARCHIVES

Page Updated:- Wednesday, 23 August, 2023.

PUB LIST PUBLIC HOUSES Paul Skelton

Earliest 1828-

Rose and Crown

Open 2019+

High Street

Wrotham

01732 885839

https://www.roseandcrownwrotham.co.uk/

https://whatpub.com/rose-crown

Rose and Crown 1910

Above postcard, circa 1910.

Rose and Crown

Above postcard from https://www.boroughgreen.gov.uk

Rose and Crown 1957

Above photo, by K J Portwine/Fox photos/Getty Images. 1957, also showing the "George and Dragon" on the right.

Rose and Crown 1999

Above photo, 23 July, 1999. From http://hassrale.co.uk

Rose and Crown 2010

Above photo 2010 by Stacey Harris Creative Commons Licence.

Rose and Crown

Above photo from https://www.boroughgreen.gov.uk

Rose and Crown

Above photo from https://www.boroughgreen.gov.uk

Rose and Crown 2014

Above photo, May 2014, kindly sent by Erik Hartland.

Rose and Crown sign 1992Rose and Crown sign 2014

Above sign left, August 1992, sign right, 2014, by Erik Hartland.

With thanks from Brian Curtis www.innsignsociety.com.

 

One time a Mason's tied house, but the brewery was bought out by Shepherd Neame in 1956 and the brewery was subsequently closed and demolished.

 

Kentish Gazette, 1 June 1847.

DEATH.

Fremlin:- May 29, Eleanor Carley, youngest daughter of the late Mrs. Elizabeth Fremlin, of the "Rose and Crown," Wrotham, ages 39.

 

From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Secret Drinker, 29 November 2019.

Secret Drinker reviews the Rose & Crown, Wrotham, near Sevenoaks.

I’ve lived in Kent for more than 20 years and I thought I’d got used to the fact place names are said nothing like they’re spelt, but what’s going on in this neck of the woods?

First I hear Teston is pronounced TEEs’n, then I’m told Trottiscliffe is pronounced TROZ-lee, and, just in case that’s not confusing enough, the nearby Trosley Country Park is also pronounced TROZ-lee.

I decided to play safe and have a pint in Wrotham only to find out I was in fact in ROOT’m.

Still, the Rose & Crown on the high street is a Shepherd Neame house and if anyone is going to understand weird, historical naming conventions it should be Britain’s oldest brewer.

The slightly strange feeling continued in the pub as the first fellow I came across was sat at the bar wearing a flowery waistcoat and drinking Guinness through a straw.

In fact, everyone in the Rose & Crown was sat or stood around the central square bar and I had to reach through them to be served.

These locals sat around trying to sound knowledgeable on a range of subjects which, when she’d heard enough, the barmaid checked on Wikipedia before correcting them.

Rose and Crown bar 2019

The only time I saw a space open up at the bar – but it soon closed up and I missed a chance to get another drink.

The barmaid was friendly, cheerful and happy to recommend a pint of Spitfire Amber Ale as her best offer. The 4.2% bitter was not oversweet and makes an excellent English session ale.

Despite the recommendation, Mrs SD was not to be swayed so I still had to cough up six quid for her usual sauvignon blanc.

We sat at a large table at the front of the pub, after all there wasn’t any space left around the bar, but were advised to relocate before ordering our food. To be fair this was good advice as the darts team were hosting a fixture against local rivals the "Black Horse" from Borough Green and we would have been directly in the firing line.

A fellow, dressed head to toe in black and sporting Paul Hollywood-style face hair, elaborately kissed the board before screwing it to the wall and declaring to no-one in particular he hoped the darts god would be good to him tonight. It was quite a display but, judging by his practice arrows, made totally in vain.

However, despite this fascinating show, my attention was taken as our food had arrived. Mrs SD went for the scampi at £10.95 and, as I was less hungry, I had the whitebait starter for £5.50. They were both, fresh, well presented and excellent. Apparently there was a kitchen wall and tartar sauce moment, but by the time everything reached us it all looked and tasted great.

Although no-one seems to sit anywhere but at the bar, the corner with the dartboard demonstrates perfectly how the pub makes good use of space – a table for dining when darts isn’t being played and there’s even a projector screen for the big games. How nice not to have a screen on when there’s nothing worth watching.

The Rose & Crown might have darts but there’s no fruit machine, pool or jukebox. Everything else is traditional – stripped floorboards, an open fire ready to be made up and, unusually, the dining chairs match (unlike so many ‘trendier’ places with different chairs) though there are some different benches.

And, talking of tradition a large percentage of locals were sporting flat caps – draw your own conclusions.

We hadn’t got room for a pudding but the list looked traditional too and I’m sure they too would have been great British fare.

There was also a second open fireplace towards the back of the pub which contained an electric fire – this wasn’t on either and, inexplicably, seemed to be contained by what looked like a metal garden gate.

Very much a haunt for locals the car park was so packed we couldn’t get a space, but there’s no way everyone was in the pub, so I assume local residents must be allowed to use it.

Like many Sheps pubs it loves its history and old photos are all around the walls.

I even heard one bar-bound local reminiscing and recalling the first time she came into the place in 1988 – in those days she reckoned the landlady turned a blind eye to drugs and ‘many other things’ so she was delighted to announce things had changed for the better and she been visiting happily for many years.

Despite the slightly ‘Vicar of Dibley’ look and feel to the bar-locked locals we too can report we enjoyed our visit to ROOT’m.

Rose and Crown gents 2019

The gents were spic and span and impeccably maintained.

Rose and Crown toilets

The ladies could not be faulted either and were spotless.

 

From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Secret Drinker, 29 May 2020.

Secret Drinker's best Shepherd Neame inland Kent pubs.

The fantastic response to my top five seaside pubs, added to the fact many locals are already planning for the glorious day they can reopen, has persuaded me I must also bring you my top Shepherd Neame inland pubs.

Just imagine the joy of sitting in a beautiful pub garden, a freshly pulled pint in your hand, while the sun blazes down and the birds twitter sweetly in the background.

I took some flak for daring to dream of the time we can revisit a lovely seaside boozer and gaze upon the waves again, but why shouldn’t we have something to look forward to?

If seven out of 10 people reckon the thing they’ve missed most during lockdown is the pub then just imagine getting back to these five fantastic pubs.

The only rule I set to be an inland pub is that if you look out of the window you can’t see the sea.

My No.5 goes to a lovely little village pub in ROOT’m – yeah, yeah, I know it’s spelt Wrotham.

Once I’d got the name of village sorted I was free to start enjoying the Rose & Crown but the fellow drinking Guinness through a straw was a first for me, and that’s even without his flowery waistcoat!

Rose and Crown inside 2019

The Rose & Crown is in the pretty village of Wrotham, just off the M20.

Quirky, verging upon Vicar of Dibley’esque, I quickly warmed to the bar-hugging locals and despite the kitchen wall/tartar sauce moment the food was great.

Like so many Sheps pubs the Rose & Crown revels in its history and has a great deal to be proud about. If you’re ever in the neck of the Kent woods where everything is pronounced that little bit differently this is definitely worth trying.

 

LICENSEE LIST

FREMLIN Elizabeth 1828-32+ Pigot's Directory 1828-29Pigot's Directory 1832-34

CARLEY John 1840+ Pigot's Directory 1840

JENKINS George 1861-71+ (age 56 in 1871Census)

NEWMAN Bethaner 1891+ (widow age 62 in 1891Census)

JARRETT Edward John 1903+ Kelly's 1903

???? Drew & Zoe 2014+

 

Pigot's Directory 1828-29From the Pigot's Directory 1828-29

Pigot's Directory 1832-34From the Pigot's Directory 1832-33-34

Pigot's Directory 1840From the Pigot's Directory 1840

Kelly's 1903From the Kelly's Directory 1903

CensusCensus

 

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