Above postcard, circa 1934, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe. In the livery of Style & Winch's Medway Brewery, Maidstone.

Above photo circa 1990.

Above photo 2014.

Above photo circa 1955 showing Pearl and Tommy Gough who are Val Lane's parents.

Above sign September 1992.

Above with thanks from Brian Curtis www.innsignsociety.com

Above photo, 2014.

CRARGE OF PERMITTING DRUNKENNESS.

James Goodhew, landlord of the "White Swan," Ash, was summoned for permitting drunkenness on his premises on the 11th September.
I.S. William Walker said about 11.30 on the evening of the 11th inst, he saw a man lying in the road, about 25 yards from defendant's house. He was helplessly drunk. Beside him, there was about 15 persons, rough, harvest men, outside, and most of them were considerably under the influence of drink. He went inside the house and saw a man named Topping, sitting on a form, helplessly drunk. There were about 20 other people in the house, most of whom were considerably the worse for drink. He called attention to the defendant to Topping, and he remarked that he could not help it; he had served them with no beer, at 8 o'clock in the evening he went to the house again, and saw Topping sitting on a bench, drunk, and the house was crowded with people, all of whom were more or less the worse for drink. At 20 minutes to 10 he saw a man whom he had seen in the house in the morning, the worse for drink, and he was drunk. At a quarter to ten he saw Topping come out drunk. He walked along holding on by the fence, and when he got to the end of it, he fell down. He was taken into custody by P.C. Humphries. He called the attention of the defendant to Topping's condition, and he said it had nothing to do with him. Topping had been at the house all day, from half-past eight o'clock in the morning. Upon his speaking to the defendant about what he had seen, and saying he should report him, he said he did not care what he did.

P.C. Humphreys corroborated the evidence of the previous witness, and said he saw several pots of beer in the house, and saw the defendant place a quart pot full of beer before a man with whom Topping was drinking. He did not see Topping supplied with any drink.

P.C. R. Lamb also corroborated.

Mr. Bailey, who appeared for the defendant, addressed the magistrates for the defence, and called the defendant, who said he had been the holder of the license of the "White Swan," at Ash, for the past seven years, and previous to that time he had held a license for 17 years. No charge had ever been made against him before this. The man Topping did not come into his house till nine o'clock in the evening. He only had one half pint of beer in his house, for which he paid a penny. He was quite sober. He was a cripple, and he said that I.C. Walker had pushed him down. He was in the house only a quarter of an hour.

John Ruggles corroborated the evidence of the last witness.

Mr. John Norton, an independent gentleman living at Ash, said he went into the house of defendant about half past eight. He heard the defendant refuse to supply two or three men with liquor. There was a good deal of talking going on, but there was no disturbance. He left in about half-an-hour.

The Magistrates fined the defendant £3 and costs, and ordered that his license be endorsed.

From the https://www.newsshopper.co.uk By PubSpy, 9th December 2014.

'As welcoming as a Rottweiler with attitude': PubSpy reviews The White Swan, Ash.

I recently visited another pub in this neck of the woods which was possibly the most uninviting place you could possibly imagine.

Well, the "White Swan" couldn’t be more different – this place is so picturesque it could feature quite happily on a chocolate box.

But, whilst the "Badger" looked like a hellhole, it turned out to be surprisingly inviting and convivial, so appearances can be deceptive.

And so it proved with the "White Swan" at Ash. It looked fantastic, but the reception was as frosty as the fridges sitting behind the bar.

I can forgive the barmaid for not being the sharpest tool in the toolbox, but there’s no excuse for rudeness.

For the first ten minutes I was completely ignored and after that she served every single local ahead of me, no matter where they were in the queue.

Then, to add insult to injury, at the request of the locals, she started putting the pints she’d already pulled into the fridges behind her to keep them cool while they popped out for a fag.

The "Badger" was slaughtered on social media but turned out to be okay. The "White Swan" gets glowing praise online, but is about as welcoming as a Rottweiler with attitude, which is also a fair description of the barmaid.

That said, the pub was pretty full, though everybody knew everybody else, if you know what I mean.

Likewise, the dining room was fairly busy, though again I would suggest no-one had travelled too far to eat here and a lot of them seemed to have arrived in the white vans parked outside.

Inside, like the exterior, the pub looks the part and special mention should go to the smoking area and the ‘chase the ace’ game on the wall where you could win £500 just for drinking at a quiet time of the week.

At this point a particularly feisty-looking woman walked through the front door with her two children and demanded to know where her fella had been all this time?

I took this as a hint it was time to leave myself.

All in all, the "White Swan" flatters to deceive and unless you’ve lived within walking distance for at least five years I wouldn’t bother if I was you. I can’t help wondering if the clientele that once infested The "Badger" haven’t take flight and landed at the "White Swan."

Decor: **** (From the outside this one could feature on a chocolate box)

Drink: *** (the usual suspects were all available)

Price: *** (reasonable enough)

Atmosphere: ** (not particularly welcoming)

Staff: ** (focused on the locals)