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From the
https://www.newsshopper.co.uk By Emily Davidson, July 2026.
The Bird In Hand: The Bromley Common pub up for sale for £1.1m.
A Bromley Common pub with more than 150 years of history is up for sale.
The Bird in Hand, at 62 Gravel Road, is on the market for offers in
excess of £1,100,000 on Rightmove Commercial, marketed by Savills.
Situated on a 0.168-acre site at the junction of Gravel Road and Cross
Road, the pub is being sold as an investment opportunity and will
continue trading as normal during the sales process.
The property is let to a private individual on a 20-year lease which
began in October 2023 and runs until October 2043. It has been on the
market for several months.
The current rent is £82,800 per year, with annual RPI-linked increases
and five-yearly open market rent reviews built into the agreement.
The two-storey detached building is split across three levels, including
a cellar and storage space in the basement. Inside, the ground floor
features an open-plan bar with seating for around 55 customers,
alongside a trade kitchen, beer store and customer toilets.
Upstairs is a traditional landlord's flat comprising two bedrooms, a
study, kitchen, bathroom and sitting room. Outside, the pub benefits
from a beer garden with seating for around 55 people and a smaller rear
customer area.
The pub's roots can be traced back to at least 1871, when census records
show it operating as the Bird in Hand under publican Isaac Dodd, a
Surrey-born beer retailer, coal dealer and farmer.
Dodd ran the business alongside his farming and coal-dealing activities
until his death in 1892, when the pub was taken over by his widow,
Frances Harris Dodd, who continued running it into the early 1900s.
The licence was later passed to his son, Alfred Dodd, who was recorded
in the 1911 Census as a farmer and licensed victualler. The Bird in Hand
remained in the Dodd family's hands for decades before later licensees
included John Rump in 1930 and Henry Hardyin 1938.
Interestingly, the pub was historically listed at 5 Gravel Road rather
than its modern address of 62 Gravel Road. The change was enforced
because the road was re-numbered rather than the building re-locating.
The pub sits within the Bromley, Hayes and Keston Commons Conservation
Area, helping preserve the character of the surrounding neighbourhood
and recognising its historic significance within the area.
The Bird in Hand has also experienced a revival in recent years. After
closing in early 2023, the pub underwent a substantial refurbishment
before re-opening under new management on October 27, 2023.
Today, the free house hosts live music, events and community gatherings,
continuing a legacy that has made it a fixture of Bromley Common for
around 155 years. |
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