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8 Strond Street (Strand)
10 Strond Street
Above photo showing the "Royal Mail Hotel." Date as yet unknown. Picture
kindly supplied by Carol Capon, who says her grandfather, Thomas Gladman, was one of the
licensees. |
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A view across the Western Docks, with Harbour Station
and Strond Street in the foreground and the Esplanade Hotel and the old
Promenade Pier in the centre. The date is about 1898. Properties visible
in Strond Street include the Royal Mall Hotel, Henning's Commercial and
Temperance Hotel, Bradley's corn stores, Friend & Co. |
A free house, standing two doors from the "Ship"
and well established in 1836.
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From the Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General
Advertiser, Saturday 16 April, 1836. Price 7d.
SUICIDE
An inquest was held at the "Packet Boat Inn," on Wednesday, before
the Worshipful the Mayor, on the body of Rebecca Fennell, whose death
was occasioned by her taking arsenic on Sunday morning. The deceased was
the wife of a pensioner from the marines, by whom she was deserted, with
five children, three or four years ago; and her last situation was that
of a domestic at the "Royal Mail" public house. It appeared by the
evidence of Mr. Oyler, the landlord, and the members of his family, &c.
that some of them became unwell after taking their coffee on Sunday
morning; but recovered. Before noon the deceased was taken ill, and at
six in the evening she confessed that she had swallowed some arsenic in
a glass of water, but said it had all come off her stomach, and there
was no occasion for a doctor. On Monday, however, a medical gentleman
was called, but the prescribed antidotes had no effect on the poison
which had already done its work. In her last moments she declared that
she had not put any poison among the coffee. None of the witnesses
assigned any cause that instigated the deceased to commit suicide; but
her daughter said her mother was of a very violent temper, and would
occasionally talk as if she were out of her mind. The enquiry lasted
three hours and upwards, when the jury returned a verdict, "That
the deceased destroyed herself by poison while in a temporary state of
insanity."
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From the Dover Express and East Kent Intelligencer,
4 November, 1865. Price 1d.
PUBLIC HOUSE OFFENCES
Robert Smith, landlord of the "Royal Mail Inn," Strond Street, was
summonsed for an infringement of his license; but the case was
dismissed.
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From the Dover Express and East Kent News, Friday,
15 February, 1867.
REFUSING TO ADMIT THE POLICE
Robert Smith, the keeper of the "Royal Mail," was summoned for
refusing to admit Police-sergeant Barton to his house early on Sunday
morning, although the light was burning brightly at the time and
customers were in the house. Defendant was fined £2 and 10s. 6d. costs.
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Noel de Fleury spent his life's savings on the hotel in 1931, the end
product boasting electric light and hot and cold water. Two years later he
was broke. And not only he. Two other hotels and four pubs in the street had
closed in the past four years.
The Chief Constable thought it was surplus to requirements in 1934. The "Green Dragon" stood twenty seven yards away and sixteen other licensed
premises were within four hundred yards. The East Kent Compensation
Authority at Canterbury confirmed the closure in June 1934.
LICENSEE LIST
OYLER Thomas 1836-40+
(Died in Tottenham June 7, 1846, aged 52)
FILE Elgar 1847-56  (Strong Street spelling error)
CLARKE Sidney 1854?
CLARKE William Sidney 1856
SMITH Robert 1860-82+
 
LAKE William 1884
WYATT W 1885-88 end
AUSTEN Henry 1888+
AUSTEN Mrs Emily 1897-1915 dec'd
   
AUSTEN Miss Eleanor 1915-31
   
DE FLEURY Noel Raymond Roy 1931-33 end
SHONE H E V 1933 end
PAYNE Armstrong 1933?
SINGLETON Mrs 1933-34 end
GLADMAN Thomas William 1934 end
From the Pigot's Directory 1840
From Bagshaw Directory 1847
From the Post Office Directory 1874
From the Kelly's Directory 1899
From the Post Office Directory 1901
From the Post Office Directory 1903
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
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