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Brewery Lane
Bridge
Above photo 2007. |
Above photo 2017. |
Above photo 2017. |
Above photo 2017. |
Above photo 2017. |
Above photo 2017. |
History & Haunting of Bridge Place Country Club, Brewery Lane, Bridge.
The pitiful cries of a murdered baby ...
The baby's cries still come from the chimney breast in a ground floor room. The
ghost of the mother, a chambermaid — for she was also murdered — is still seen
with a laundry basket in one of the bedrooms. According to Peter Malkin, still
the owner of the Bridge Place Country Club, he sees the chambermaid with the
laundry basket every month or two. He is very calm and matter-of-fact when he
spoke to me. Of course he's heard the baby cry, but not recently. Which must be
a comfort. For the origins of this ghastly tale, we have to look back into the
eighteenth century. In about 1780, the owner of the manor house, as it then was,
was a man called Taylor. He had been carrying on an illicit affair with the
chambermaid while his wife was in Scotland, recovering from a long illness. He
had in fact fathered a baby with the chambermaid. Hearing that his wife was
returning, he thought he had little option but to murder mother and child — and
this he did. One wonders where he hid the bodies. Could the baby have been
shoved up the chimney — which was where the cries came from? The young mother
under the floor of the bedroom where she now appears? Of course we don't know,
but speculation is rife from many who have visited the house.
There is another story, and it comes from 1969 when a young French boy was
staying in the haunted bedroom. What he saw was what he described as a
'Cavalier-type figure of a man.' When the same phantom appeared on the
subsequent night, he asked for another room — a request that was willingly
granted. This attractive old building was constructed as a manor house in 1638.
It was partly destroyed in the English Civil War (1642-1646 and 1648) and
eventually converted into a popular country club complete with a large dance
floor in the original wing. It still has its seventeenth-century oak stairway
and carved stone busts. The present owner, Peter Malkin, bought the club in 1967
and, shortly after he had moved in, was astonished by its entrenched ghosts.
They seldom bother him now he is used to them. They are used to each other.
From The Ghost-Hunter's Casebook: The Investigations of Andrew Green Revisited
By Bowen Pearse.
Bridge Place is listed Grade II.
The Manor of Blackmansbury, alias Bridge, belonged to St Augustine's Abbey until
the dissolution of the monasteries. It came into the ownership of Henry VIII and
was granted to Henry Lawrence. It remained in that family until 1638, when it
was sold to the Dutchman, Sir Arnold Braems. He became the first manager of
Dover Harbour Board and had the magnificent house built, being nine bays wide by
seven deep around a courtyard. Hasted describes it as "a spacious and
magnificent mansion", which was renamed Bridge Place in about 1650.
The property has subsequently changed hands on only a small number of occasions
and has now been in the same ownership for many years.
Up until recently sold it was used as a private country club now Bridge Place
Country Night Club.
Bridge Place Manor, formerly known as Blackmanbury, was rebuilt in 1638 by Sir
Arnold Braem. He fought for the King in the Civil War and was subsequently
captured at the Battle of Nasby whilst tending the wounds of his mortally
wounded son. They later escaped to Holland and joined young Charles II in exile
in Breda. After the death of Oliver Cromwell he was invited to return to England
upon which his manor was returned to him.
In 1660 General George Monck was sent to Holland to bring Charles II back to
rule. The nation was jubilant; they landed at Dover and the King stayed at
Bridge Place Manor with his dear friend Sir Arnold. He was the first man to be
knighted for his unwavering loyalty and support of his father.
There are portraits of Sir Arnold Braem and his wife in his old room, which is
of course the premier room in which to stay. There is also an original oak
cornice with ornately carved faces of Sir Arnold and his family. He is buried in
Bridge Church.
Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton stayed here several times, hence the reason for so
many pictures of them in the Manor. Lady Hamilton is buried in Deal churchyard.
Their only child Horatia married the Vicar of Tenterden and bore 10 children.
This place was more an over 30s night club and music venue than a drinking establishment,
but I'm adding to my Bridge list.
Advert for the Yardbirds in 1968.
Fan review:- "Having never managed to catch the Yardbirds in their
Clapton or Beck days, I was excited when Bridge advertised a gig of
theirs in Dec 68. The Country Club wasn't your typical venue, with
everything focussed on the music; the band played in one of several
rooms - quite small, probably about King Tuts sized. It wasn't full, far
from it, maybe only about 30 of us. The only number I recall clearly,
over that 49+ years, is Communication Breakdown. The band got a very
low-key reaction and when, at the end, Robert Plant said, "Thank you and
good night from Led Zeppelin", I thought it was a reference to the
unenthusiastic audience (remember, I thought I was watching the
Yardbirds)". [Richard Addison, 2018] |
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From the
https://www.independent.co.uk By Glenda Cooper, Saturday 10
September 1994.
Man jailed for kidnap of son is freed after apology.
PETER MALKIN, the man jailed for kidnapping his 12-year-old son, was
freed yesterday after serving eight months of his sentence.
The president of the High Court family division, Sir Stephen Brown, who
had sentenced him to 18 months for contempt of court last January, said
he accepted Mr Malkin would not do it again.
Oliver, a ward of court in the sole legal care and control of his mother
Elisa Pridmore, was snatched as he got off a school bus in Brittany,
France, on 8 November last year. Three men held back his grandmother and
two uncles as Oliver was bundled into a car. The boy was smuggled
through Europe, finally turning up in Egypt.
Mr Malkin had abducted Oliver on two previous occasions, once keeping
him for 19 months until he was discovered in a secret attic room at Mr
Malkin's country club in Bridge, Kent.
Yesterday, the businessman made an emotional plea for his release to the
judge: 'I broke the law my lord, and I apologise most sincerely to you
for this, that I allowed my love for Oliver to cloud my judgement. I do
ask for your forgiveness and I promise that I will never break the law
again.'
He added that he had been unfairly portrayed by the media: 'I'm not a
hard, shrewd businessman but a kind, gentle man. I love not only my son,
but old houses, old England,' he said.
Mr Malkin's pounds 870,000 assets, which the court ordered to be
sequestrated last December, included his home and business at Bridge
Place Country Club, near Canterbury, and Churston Hall Hotel, near
Brixham, Devon.
He told the judge: 'Prison has not only been a punishment for me, it has
cost me very greatly. My private house has had to be sold, and all my
personal money has had to be spent. I have borrowed from my brother
Tony, and I am suffering.'
When Sir Stephen sentenced Mr Malkin in January he said that he had been
guilty of a 'gross, calculated and deliberate defiance' of the court.
Yesterday he said that it was not the wish of the court that he should
remain in prison. 'I now believe you recognise what you did was wrong
and have fully apologised, I order your discharge from prison
forthwith.'
Outside the court, Mr Malkin was in jubilant mood, hugging his
girlfriend, Audrey Donnelly, who was not jailed for her part in the
abduction. He said: 'It's quite wonderful being in the open air.'
When asked if he regretted abducting Oliver, he replied: 'I regret
having offended the judge, but because I wasn't getting any access, I
had to do it.'
Mr Malkin said that it had been difficult for the boy, who is now 13, to
see him in prison. 'I've been told I can see him again at the end of
next week. He loves me as I love him.'
Oliver's mother, who was ill with cancer at the time of the abduction,
was not in court yesterday, and Lesley Gibson, a family friend who had
acted as a go-between, said she would not be making any comment because
'enough hard things have been said on both sides and she doesn't want to
enflame the situation'.
Ms Gibson said that Oliver was still traumatised and had to have private
tuition to catch up on the three years of missed schooling. 'He's a very
nice, sensitive caring boy,' she said.' That's the problem - he takes on
board other people's feelings.' She added that he felt guilty about his
father having been in prison: 'He pays the price every day.'
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From
https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Gerry Warren, 2 June 2013.
One of Kent's finest Jacobean mansion, Bridge Place near Canterbury is on the
market for £2 million.
Businessman Peter Malkin is selling the country mansion where he has
lived for almost 50 years.
It is also where he hid his young son from the authorities after a
bitter custody battle with his ex-wife when he snatched him in France
and brought him back to Kent.
It resulted in him being jailed for contempt of court for eight months
after breaking a court order.
Mr Malkin said: "I did it for love and don't regret it. Oliver and I are
very close and speak several times a week and I go to see him regularly
in Devon."
The colourful 68-year-old has put Bridge Place on the market for offers
of around £2 million, saying he has done so with a heavy heart.
He has owned the Jacobean Grade II-listed, eight-bedroom mansion since
the 60s when he ran it as an upmarket country club.
The property, set in six acres of countryside and Mr Malkin, who has
painstakingly restored the building, says he will be sad to leave.
He said: "Obviously I love the place and am very attached to it. But
it's just me and my brother, who is staying with me for a while, so I am
rattling around the house. But I will only sell it if the price is
right."
But he believes the house would make a wonderful family home or a
country hotel.
For many years he specialised in buying and conserving old buildings and
has worked on more than 40 properties.
Peter Malkin in the corridors of Bridge Place.
He said: "I have done so much work to restore its original features,
including the staircase, and it's looking wonderful. The whole place is
in tip-top condition.
"It would be a great wrench to leave after all this time but my son
Oliver lives in Devon with his wife and they have just had my first
grandson.
"I quite like the idea of buying a place down there and having one here
because I still love the Canterbury area."
The house has a fascinating history. It was built by a Dutchman, Sir
Arnold Braems, who became the first manager of Dover Harbour Board and
renamed Bridge Place in about 1650.
The property is being marketed by Strutt and Parker in Canterbury.
Partner Simon Backhouse said: "The house has magnificent period
detailing and retains a wealth of interesting features, both inside and
out, and now offers great potential.
"It provides a fine canvas from which to recreate a magnificent family
home.
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From the Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District, 1 Jun 2017 By Gerry Warren.
The end of over-30s club as mansion's owner seeks to sell.
Bridge Place has hosted the last of its popular club nights as its owner
looks to finally sell the sprawling country mansion.
Peter Malkin has abandoned plans to turn his home into a luxury hotel
and instead put the 17th century property on the market for a second
time.
The businessman, who says he does not have the appetite to run such a
demanding new business, hopes to find a new venue for his monthly
over-30s night.
But first he needs to secure a buyer for Bridge Place, which has an
asking price of £2.45 million - down from the £3 million it was marketed
for in 2013.
Mr Malkin admits it will be a wrench to leave the Grade II-listed home
he has lovingly restored over 50 years,
but says he is now “100% committed” to moving on.
“Although I have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on the place over
the years, it really is time for
me to downsize and hand it on to someone else,” he said.
“To be honest, I don’t need a big place like this anymore or the cost of
the upkeep. After some thought, I have decided that running a hotel wall
be too demanding, although I still think it would make a fabulous
opportunity for someone else. It wall be a wrench, but I’m 100%
committed to selling, although I want to
stay in the area.”
Mr Malkin first opened his club in the swinging Sixties and revived it
about 12 years ago.
“We held our last club night on Saturday, but I have my eyes on a new
place in the Canterbury area
which already has a licence.” Bridge Place - which has eight bedrooms
and sits in five acres of rolling countryside - has quite a history.
It was built by Dutchman Sir Arnold Braems - the first manager of Dover
Harbour Board - and named Bridge Place in about 1650. When Mr Malkin
previously offered it for sale, among the potential buyers was Queen
guitarist Brian May, who came to view the mansion.
It is now being sold through Strutt and Parker, which says the building
has “the most extraordinarily well-presented 17th century features.”
Restored room 2017.
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LICENSEE LIST
MALKIN Peter 1968-2017
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