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14 King Street
Deal
https://www.facebook.com
https://whatpub.com/just-reproach
Above photo 2018. |
Photo taken 15 February, 2014, from
http://www.flickr.com
by Jelltex. |
Above photo by Paul Skelton 11 February 2012. |
Above photo taken from Google maps 2011.
Photo taken from their web site Nov 2011 showing the pub before
conversion. |
Above photos of the bar kindly sent by Mark Robson. |
The above spells out "THE JUST REPROACH" using the Nautical
International Flag Codes. |
The "Just Reproach" opened on 14 December 2011 as a micropub run by father and daughter, Mark and Bronwen Robson. The philosophy behind a micropub is the rejection of all
that the big chains tell us that we want.
There is, no television, no fruit machines, no juke box, no spirits and
no lager. Conversation and social interaction are actively encouraged!
The emphasis is on good beer from microbreweries served straight from the
cask but also sold on the premises is a red and white house wine and some
soft drinks for the drivers.
From its opening the pub is closed Monday's and Sunday evenings but are
open the rest of the week between 12.00 and 14.00, 17.00 to 21.00
Tuesday to Thursday and 17.00 to 23.00 Friday and Saturday.
The pub's name, "The Just Reproach" has been taken from Daniel Defoe's
account of the Great Storm of 1703. Realising that the enormity and impact
of the Great Storm across the country Defoe asked for the public to send
accounts to him which he would then publish. There is uncertainty as to how
many accounts Defoe received and how many he made up but accounts of Deal
and its inhabitants were far from flattering! Defoe concluded the book with
a poem and, in reference to Deal, he wrote:
If I had any Satire left to write.
Could I with suited spleen indite,
My verse should blast that fatal town,
And drown'd sailors' widows pull it down;
No footsteps of it should appear,
And ships no more cast anchor there.
The barbarous hated name of Deal shou'd die,
Or be a term of infamy;
And till that's done, the town will stand
A just reproach to all the land.
This is Deal's first and only micropub to date. (Jan 2012)
However, before it's opening in 2011, the building has been home to quite
a few other premises.
In the 1890s it was home to Boot Maker John Smith. It has also been home
to a Post Office, and at one time known as Kynance House, run by someone
known as Pryor, I believe, but at present I do not know what they sold, or
the dates of the above. Local knowledge appreciated.
Above photo, showing the Boot Makers shop of John Smith in 1890. |
Above photo showing the premises as a Post Office, circa 1900. |
Above photos showing the building as Kynance House, and run by
Prior, date unknown. |
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From an email received, 29 December 2021.
Hi Paul,
I do believe the property has been a Post Office, butcher, car
parts centre, dry cleaner and also a Fair Trade shop.
This building was a post office, but not Deal’s first post office.
Nobody knows when, or where Deal’s first post office was. When a
post office was awarded it went to that person’s house/business,
until somebody else took over, and so on. No doubt this caused
confusion, so this property in King Street became Deal’s first
permanent post office.
After the post office moved out Harry Willis, a butcher moved in,
1903ish, hence the type of windows still there.
By 1915, F. Jennings was there.
In 1922, A. W. Bailey, property known as Southdown House, still
number 14. A. W. Bailey continued to trade there until at least 1939.
In 1947, the business is A. E. Bailey, presumably his son, trading
until at least 1968.
In 1971, Frank Stevens, butcher, is there.
There’s no official lists after 1971, just advertising booklets,
often with no addresses, just phone numbers!
If the current occupant owns the freehold, dead easy, view the deeds
for all the owners.
If the original applicant is still the occupant, he is Mark Robson.
Colin Varrall. |
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From the East Kent Mercury November 2011
Perfect pints pulled at Mark's' micropub
Conversation and real ale on tap at The Just Reproach
Report by by Sam Inkersole.
MAJOR pub chain Wetherspoons may plan to open in Deal next year but a
much more intimate public house is out to steal their thunder.
The "Just Reproach" micropub, named after Daniel Defoe's poem written
about Deal in the 1700's, will open at the end of November in King
street, opposite the Royal Snooker Club.
A maximum of 20 to 25 people can fit into the small pub at any one
time, which will only be selling real ale from micro brewers from across
the country, complemented by a small selection of wines.
PINTS
Landlord Mark Robson, 53, a former head teacher from Kingston Close
in River, can't wait to start pulling pints for punters.
The father-of-three said: "Deal is a lovely town, and opening a pub
is something I have always wanted to do.
"This new breed of pub means I don't have to spend silly amounts of
money on a big premises.
"It's like going back to when the pub was first created.
No televisions, fruit machines or jukeboxes, people can just come in
and have a chat with a few beers.
Mr Robson added: "I have received a great reaction from locals so far
many people come up to me in the pub asking me what's going on, when am
I opening and what will I be selling."
Andy Stevens from the Deal and Walmer Chamber of Trade welcomed this
forthcoming addition to Deal's host of independent traders.
He said: "The "Just Reproach" looks like it will be just the type of
quality enterprise Deal needs.
"Micropubs are all the rage nationally, as people become more
discerning about how they spend their leisure time.
Mr. Stevens added: If the owners do it well, build up a decent
clientele who enjoy a civilised drinking environment, then all power to
them.
"It's another good example of Deal's increasing desirability as a
place to live and set up businesses."
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Closed shortly after opening for the upgrade of the cool-room, but open
again shortly afterwards.
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From the
https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Eleanor Perkins, 14 August 2018.
Deal micropub The Just Reproach raises thousands in fines after banning phones.
A Deal micropub which bans the use of mobile phones has raised
thousands of pounds for charity in fines.
Father and daughter owners of The Just Reproach, Mark and Bronwen
Robson, issue a £1 fine to any customer who accepts a call within
the establishment.
They adopted the policy when they opened six and half years ago,
calling it a 'digital detox' which encourages better conversation
among punters.
Owners Bronwen and Mark Robson enforce £1 fines if a customer uses
their phone inside the micropub.
Mr Robson, 60, said: "When we set up the micropub there were only
three in Kent and they also followed the same rules.
"It's because the whole point of the buildings is for people to
interact.
"You always find that telephone conversations and mobile phones get
in the way of that.
"But a lot of the others [micropubs] don't seem to have continued
with it.
"Our customers get it. Our regulars love it when somebody's phone
goes off. There's always a big cheer.
"It's fun, it's novel. Why would you want to change that?"
The rules about phone use are displayed on the main wall inside the
micropub.
For new customers, two posters among a wall display of old mobiles
state the rules.
They are that mobiles can be used inside the establishment for the
purpose of texting or browsing but only on a silent basis.
However phones calls are strictly forbidden and can only be done
outside of the premises. If a phone rings aloud, the owner must also
pay up.
Mr Robson said only two customers in its history have refused to pay
the charge which goes to the Pilgrims Hospice in Canterbury.
Both were refunded the money they paid for their drink and asked to
leave.
Regular Eddie Taylor said: "It makes you converse and engage with
each other. It's nice to switch it off."
Regular customers love the no phone policy.
The no phone rule has helped raise £11,000 for the Pilgrims Hospice
in Canterbury - a cause close to the family's hearts.
Mr Robson's wife and Miss Robson's mother, Debbie, was cared for by
staff at the hospice before she died from cancer in 2016. She was a
social worker at the home before she fell ill.
Mr Robson said: "People are very generous. It think because it's for
the hospice. Everyone seems to identify with that in some way, so
people are happy to give."
The micropub has raised a further £8,000 for other charities such as
Breast Cancer Now, Royal British Legion, Royal Marine charity Go
Commando and the British Heart Foundation.
They host regular pub quizzes, vegetable growing competitions and
sweepstakes. |
LICENSEE LIST
ROBSON Mark & Bronwen Nov/2011-21+
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