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