Dolphin Lane and Russell Street

From the Dover Express 24 December 1997 by Bob Hollingsbee. ONE TIME Castle Inn landlady Mrs Marjoram outside-the Russell Street public house with a mixture of customers, two of the sailors coming from HMS Ganges and HMS Queen respectively. The picture was shown to me by a fellow local history enthusiast and former ambulance officer Joe Harman, of St Radigunds Road. I was a little surprised to read from my notes that the postcard dates from about 1904.

From the Dover Express 28 January 1998. My MENTION recently in Memories of how few early photographs there seemed to be of the Russell Street area around the Castle Inn prompted a response from Express reader Brenda Blackman. "It was a surprise to me to see the photo of Mrs Marjoram, onetime landlady of the Castle Inn in your December 25 edition of Memories," she writes, "as she was my mother-in-law's mother." Mrs Blackman said she lent Joe Harman the original postcard. "The date was 1908. I know this because the young lady on the right of the picture is my mother-in-law Kate born in 1894. She was 14 at the time. "Her brother, Albert Marjoram is third from the left in a uniform I can't identify. In 1936 he was landlord of the Royal Mortar Inn public house in Military Road." Mrs Blackman went on to tell me their father, David Marjoram was landlord of several pubs in the town over the years "having itchy feet!" Best of these was one at the bottom of Finnis Hill where they often had actors etc staying with them while they were appearing at the old Hippodrome theatre in Snargate Street, which was near the site of the former Dover Express offices and printing works, now demolished. When David Marjoram retired and moved to Balfour Road he and his two daughters, Alice and Kate continued to care for people including soldiers stationed in Dover in the First World War. And, she said: "One of them became the husband of Kate who gave birth to my husband, Eric in 1924!"

The above three coloured photos supplied by Barry Smith.

Pigot's directory of 1823 lists a "Castle Inn" at Quay and hosted by Stephen Foord. But that is not this one.

This Whitbread house was known previously as the "White Hart" and as such, served the public long before Russell Street was formed in 1838.

Regrettably, on 13 August 1891, the licensee's mother accidentally overturned a paraffin lamp. The consequent blaze destroyed the interior and it is tempting to say that the name changed when it was restored and reopened some years later. I have no evidence to support that theory.

It was purchased by Chapman, Gibbon and Chapman in 1898 who traded as George Beer and Company.

Enemy action closed the pub on 5 June 1942 but it was reopened by Brinley Critchley on 5 June 1950. Much renovation and modernisation has taken place since 1963 but the pub retains much of its old character for all that.

Apparently closed February 2008. To be confirmed.

LICENSEE LIST

HOWE Charles 1895

CRUDEN John 1895-99

CHAPMAN G. A. 1898 ?

CHAPMAN W. C. N. 1898 ?

GIBBONS Oliver F. 1898 ?

ARMITAGE B.  early 1900’s (Castle Inn)

HUNT James Harold 1901-02 end

MERRILL Benjamin Armitage 1902-03 end

BUSHELL Frank William 1903-04 end ?

HUNT James H 1903-04

MARJORAM David 1904-09

CURLING William 1904 ?

MURRAY John  1904 end (Castle Inn)

MATTHEWS A. W. Nottingham 1906-07

MARTIN William 1913-14 dec'd

MARTIN W. 1914

JOB William G. 1913-14 end

MARTIN Mrs Anne E. 1914-22 end

HILLYAR Ernest 1922-32+

TIMBERS Alfred Ernest 1933-35 end

BARHAM Charles 1935-36 end

STAINES Nelson Arthur 1936-42 end

CRITCHLEY Brinley Aubrey 1947-61 dec'd

BOLLANS Charles Fortescue 1961-75 end

SEWELL Derek Ronald 1975-79 end

BROWN 1979

CASSIDY 1980

STANLEY E. 1987

HILL J. H. 1987 only

LANIGAN 1988

STEWARD Victor 1988

From Pikes Dover Blue Book 1895

From the Kelley's Directory 1899

From the Post Office Directory 1903

From Pikes Dover Blue Book 1909

From the Post Office Directory 1913

From the Post Office Directory 1922

From Pikes Dover Blue Book 1923

From Pikes Dover Blue Book 1924

From the Post Office Directory 1930

From Pikes Dover Blue Book 1932-33

From the Post Office Directory 1938

From the Kelley's Directory 1956