JUST REPROACH Micro Pub of Deal

DOVER KENT ARCHIVES

LIST

BREWERIES

Paul Skelton

Nov 2011

The Just Reproach

Still open

14 King Street

Deal.

07432413226

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.

Opened on 14 December 20112, the "Just Reproach" micropub is 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)

From the East Kent Mercury November 2011

Mark Robson of the Just Reproach

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."

Visit their web at:- http://www.thejustreproach.co.uk/

LICENSEE LIST

ROBSON Mark Nov 2011+

If anyone should have any further information, or indeed any pictures or photographs of the above licensed premises, please email:-

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