Steve sent a request (posted on the message board) to try to find out a little more about the cottage he lives in, which was once the Kentish Hoy public house in Bow Road.
Dail kindly sent us the maps below and writes:-
These three cottages take their name from the former pub called ‘Kentish Hoy’. It is difficult to ascertain the true antiquity of these attractive properties due to the fairly substantial alterations over the past couple of hundred years or so. The 18th century façade, though very pleasing to the eye, is perhaps misleading in as much as it hides evidence of the true age of the original old building.
Inside there were, and probably still are, a number of ancient features such as a wonderful crown post in the upper room of no. 105. There was a second crown post in this property, but it is thought to have been destroyed by fire as it was close to the chimney breast.
The former old ‘Kentish Hoy’ pub was already in operation in 1807 as can be seen on the attached map of John Sanders farm, the name of the pub being clearly marked towards the bottom of Bow Road. The name and landlord of the pub can also be found in early Kent Trade Directories listed under the parish of Nettlestead. The rather scruffy tithe map of 1839 clearly shows that a strip of land towards the bottom of Bow Road, which included the site of the Kentish Hoy, was indeed within the boundary of Nettlestead.
The pub appears to have ceased trading in about 1892. Following its purchase by Richard Fremlin it was converted into two cottages in about 1894, then subsequently converted into three at some point before the last war. As the original building was built on a steep slope, the front parlours were much higher than the kitchens and access from one room to the other was by a wooden ladder, until at least the 1950’s.
Hope this is helpful.
Dail
