Above picture shows the Royal Oak circa 1920.

Above 2 pictures shows the Royal Oak circa 1940.

Above picture shows the Royal Oak 1950's.

Above postcard, circa 1949, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe.

Above photograph circa 1960, kindly supplied by Terry Wheeler of the Ramsgate Historical Society.

Above photo taken 11 June 2011.

Royal Oak sign July 1991.

Above with thanks from Brian Curtis www.innsignsociety.com

Above photos by Paul Skelton 10 August 2007.

Above photo taken 11 June 2011.

The following information was kindly supplied by Clive Webb, see following web site:- http://www.nonington.com/

The Royal Oak, in the Drove, lower Holt Street, sometimes Old Street, Nonington.

"The Royal Oak" is now the only public house in the modern parish of Nonington and the most recently licensed of the alehouses that could once be found in the parish of Nonington.

William Wanstall junior had been the last licensee of "The Hawks Head", formerly "The White Horse", over the hill from the Drove, as lower Holt Street is still known, next to the church in what was then part of Church Street, now Pinners Lane. This alehouse had closed in March, 1832, and it was not until the yearly Wingham licensing sessions in September, 1832, that he was given a licence for the newly built "Royal Oak".

Alehouses at this time opened at six o'clock in the morning and closed at ten o'clock at night. With the granting of the licence he became liable to pay the Parish Poor Rate on the premises which were owned by J. P. Plumptre, Esq., of Fredville. Wanstall's father, William Wanstall senior, was the Parish Clerk in the mid-1830's and was for many years listed in parish records as a shoemaker and cordwainer initially with a house and shop premises in Easole Street but later moving to premises in the Drove now known as now the Old Post Office which adjoin the southern end of the present pub garden.

"The Royal Oak" became the venue for the fortnightly meetings of the Parish Vestry, an early form of the Parish Council but with much more responsibility for parish affairs, which had for many years, until its closure, previously met in “The Hawks Head”. These meetings normally began at “eleven of the clock in the forenoon” and decided on such important matters as raising revenue through parish rates for the administration of the Poor Laws and the maintenance of the roads within the parish.

William Wanstall was followed by John Hopper, who had previously been the landlord of "The Redd Lyon" at Frogham which was also owned by the Fredville estate, became licensee of "The Royal Oak" on November 1st, 1836.

The next landlord of the premises was John Nash, who took over in 1845. In addition to being the pub landlord he was also the receiver of mail as the “Oak” was not just an alehouse and public meeting place but also served for a time as the parish post office. Prior to its closure “The Hawks Head” would have fulfilled this function. The landlord of the "Oak" served as the local post master during the 1840's and 50's until other premises came into use. John Nash's widow, Harriet, took over as licensee on his death in 1855 and ran the pub until handing over to Leonard Woodruff in 1870. He in turn was followed on his death by his widow Fanny Charlotte Woodruffe.

In his memoirs taken down 1936 by Dr. Hardman, a local historian, Richard Jarvis Arnold, born in the parish and resident there in the 1880's and 1890's recalls: “The public houses were the Royal Oak (here Dr. Hardman noted that the pub had "Since been rebuilt") kept by Woodruff and the Walnut Tree beer house kept by Sheaf”. This note by Dr. Harman indicates that the "Oak" underwent alterations at some time from the late 1890's to the early 1930's when the memoirs were taken down. These must have been mainly internal as the building appears to have retained its original external features including windows and doors. In January 1987 the ground floor interior underwent extensive alterations, with the unusual horse-shoe shaped bar installed during the previous alterations being replaced.

In 1876 the widowed Fanny Woodruffe married James Stow who became the new landlord and continuing as such until his death in 1896 when the again widowed Fanny Charlotte Stow held the licence in her own right for the second time until giving it up in 1899, the new landlord being William Henry Sayer.

In 1918 a cycle repair and taxi service was opened in stable buildings to the rear of the pub by W. Sayers, the land lords nephew. When the business expanded to include motor vehicle repairs and fuel sales he moved it to the present garage premises in Holt Street in 1926, previously a laundry, where he continued to run the business until he was succeeded on his retirement in 1948 by his nephews, Charles and Arthur Betts. Since Arthur's retirement the business has been run by his son, Terry.

Subsequent landlords included Arthur Balcombe, landlord during the Second World War and who's daughter, Margaret, married my uncle, Frank Webb. Reg Deal and Reg Reynolds, who's daughter Coralie still lives in the parish, were landlords during the 1950's followed by Tony Usher and Nick Larsen during the 1960's with Nick leaving in 1975 to be followed various managers who included Nigel Turnbull and John Nicholson. Roy Faye became licensee at the end of the 1970's with Peter Addis, since retired, taking over from him in 1988.

Until the early 1960's the ‘Oak' also had a tea garden, serving teas to cricketers and the general public in a building at the end of the garden. For many years it was the ‘local' for students at the nearby Nonington College of Physical Education until its unfortunate closure in the mid-1980's.

Over the years the pub was leased by various brewers including; Gardeners Ash of nearby Ash, Thompson & Wootton and Whitbread, who eventually returned the lease to the Fredville estate so that the "Oak" is now a "free house".

As in every other parish in the country there were also beer houses in Nonington. These were small premises, often someone's kitchen, where beer was sold for consumption off of the premises. Water supplies were often not safe to drink so "small beer", low in alcohol, was drunk instead.