Pear Tree Inn

East Kent Times and Mail, Wednesday 18 December 1907.

Pear Tree Inn. A beer house at Pegwell.

At the Ramsgate Police Court on Friday, Mr. Thorne Drury applied on behalf of Mr. H. C. Bishop, for temporary authority to sell at the "Pear Tree Inn." Mr. Drury explained that the late tenants, Mr. Bangor, have become bankrupt and had deposited the magistrates' certificate with a money lender as security for an advance. An application was made a few weeks ago for a copy of the certificate and the Bench refused the application. The house was then shut up. It was then intended to apply on the next transfer day for what was technically a fresh grant for Mr. Bishop. At the 11th hour it was discovered by the brewers that Mr. Bishop had been convicted of gaming at a house in which he had previously held the licence at Chislehurst. It was thought fit to withdraw the application, but upon enquiry into the circumstances of the conviction, the brewers found the affair was a very trivial one. It was practically a mere technical offence, because the charge against Mr. Bishop, which by the way was some 4 years ago, was for permitting games of dominoes and "ringing the bull" on 7 different occasions. Although the prosecution proved the offence on each of the 7 days, under the Statues the Bench could have inflicted a fine of £50 for each day the offence was proved, the bench only inflicted a fine of 20s. in respect of all 7 offences, clearly showing that in the opinion of the Bench that they were not convicting him of a serious offence, but merely a technical infringement of the Statute. At the next general licensing meeting the licence was renewed without any comment at all, and not in pursuance of an understanding between the brewers and the Bench that the tenant should be got rid of at the earliest possible moment. Mr. Bishop would tell them that is leaving the house had nothing to do with the conviction. Apart from that conviction Mr. Bishop's references were perfectly unassailable. He had been acting as a manager of a fully licensed house for 18 months on behalf
of the official receiver and therefore it could not be said he was not a fit and proper person to conduct the business of a small beer house. Mr. Bishop had been in Ramsgate 3 weeks or a month and had brought his furniture down with him. It would be hard on a man if that one conviction was going to keep him earning his living, and if the application was refused it would no doubt go against him if he applied for a licence anywhere else. As the Bench would appreciate, the brewers were really making the application, and it was hardly likely they would put forward a man in whom they had not every confidence. Mr. Bishop would be a permanent tenant, and he (Mr. Drury) believed the agreement or the lease have been deposited with the brewers for some days.

Mr. H. C. Bishop then gave evidence. He stated that have been in the licensed victuallers business about 16 years, and it was the only trade he knew. He had held the licence of the "Bull Inn," St. Paul's Cray, of which the Kent Public House Trust were owners. The conviction to which Mr. Drury had referred was in November, 1903, and in the following February his licence was renewed without any comment by the Bench. Later he put in his resignation, but it was not due to any pressure on the part of the owners. Since then he has managed on behalf of the official receiver the "Bickley Hotel," Chislehurst, and was there 18 months.

The Old Bull and Bush.

In answer to the Chief Constable, Mr. Bishop said he'd also managed his father's house, the "Bull and Bush" at Hampstead and also the "Wagon and Horses" at Surbiton. He did not disclose at first the conviction to the brewers and police because he thought it was such a trivial offence, and he had since had his licence renewed.

Are you prepared to take a house with a poor trade if the magistrates decide to schedule it for compensation at Quarter Sessions?

Yes.

Are you putting in any money if your own?

No. Only the fixtures and furniture.

Mr. Drury said the house was perfectly empty.

The Chief Constable said he thought it only just for the applicant to say that, apart from the matter mentioned, all the other references which the applicants had produced, extending over a period of 10 years were highly satisfactory.

Mr. Drury mentioned that the brewers had redeemed the certificate of licence.

Mr. Weigall (to applicant):- Do you know the neighbourhood of Pegwell Bay?

Applicant:- I have been living there for 6-weeks.

Then you must know that there are more public houses there than the needs of the inhabitants require?

I think it will be a living for me.

The Chairman:- There is a possibility, perhaps more than a possibility, of this house being scheduled.

Mr. Water Lister, managers for Messs's. Gardener of Ash, said they are prepared to accept Mr. Bishop as a tenant, and the the intimation that have fallen from Mr. Jones as to the possibility of the house being scheduled would not affect their decision in any way.

Captain Vaile asked if there was any inconvenience from the house being closed.

Mr. Drury said the house did a summer trade.

Mr. Lister said the place had been shut up since the middle of October, but it had done a very good tread - 2 barrels a week.

Mr. Banger, the former lessee, said he did not object to the transfer.

The Mayor of Ramsgate (who was in the chair) said the Bench desired time to point out that there was every possibility to the premises being scheduled. If in the face of that, the tenant was prepared to go on, they would grant him temporary authority but it must be on the understanding that he must not come there presently and say that it was led to suppose that something else would happen.

Mr. Drury pointed out that the statement that the house was going to be scheduled was embarrassing to the brewers.

The Mayor said the statement was only made out of kindness to the tenants.

Mr. Drury said no doubt the Bench appreciated the brewers point of view. Presuming the application had not been granted it would have put them in a very awkward position.

Mr. Bishop was granted temporary authority.