The Chequers Inn, Smarden

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The Chequers in 2014 'The Chequers' - Smarden - geograph.org.uk - 3951077.jpg
The Chequers in 2014

The Chequers Inn is a public house in the village of Smarden in Kent. It has been listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England since February 1967. [1] It was built in the 16th-century and is timber framed. It was subsequently refronted in red brick and features extensive weatherboarding. [1]

The 1886 Memories of Smarden' by Rev. Francis Haslewood relates an incident in which a gang of smugglers held a gun to the head of an excise officer who entered the Chequers and demanded their surrender before riding off. [2] The Chequers is one of a number of pubs where the ghost of highwayman Dick Turpin and his horse Black Bess have allegedly been sighted. [3] In 1886 the Court Nil Desperandum society of the Ancient Order of Forresters were registered at the pub and had 90 members. [4]

The sign of the Chequers Inn was traditionally garlanded with leaves and berries from Torminalis glaberrima , a tree popularly known as the Chequers tree, every autumn. [5]

In 2024 permission was granted by Ashford Borough Council to turn the Chequers Inn into a single-family residence. [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 Historic England, "The Chequers Inn, Smarden (1323771)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 17 August 2024
  2. Francis Haslewood (1886). Memorials of Smarden, Kent. Privately printed. p. 219.
  3. Oates, Jonathan (2023-03-23). Dick Turpin. Pen and Sword True Crime. ISBN   978-1-3990-7062-1.
  4. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1878). Parliamentary Papers. HM Stationery Office. p. 74.
  5. Woolf, Jo (2020-04-07). Britain's Trees. Rizzoli Publications. p. 240. ISBN   978-1-911358-86-2.
  6. Ho, Vivian (17 August 2024). "Paul Hollywood defends wife against 'unforgivable' criticism of Kent pub sale". The Guardian . Retrieved 18 August 2024.