Oldest Pub in Hastings - Part II

By Steve the Beermeister

I thought I'd already explained that finding out which pub is the oldest in Hastings wouldn't be all that easy, both in my recent blog, and in my article in the Hastings Independent, and I even invited readers of both to provide help and advice, but talk about jumping the gun!?! Obviously, some readers don't actually read an article fully, indeed, one reader decided to write a letter of complaint, which is completely unfounded! 

As I said in the newspaper article, I would deal with this in further articles leading up to Christmas, however, since I do not write for that organ anymore, I have said I would deal with this subject in future blogs here. Sounds simple to understand to me, but, Alan of The Stag decided to write to the paper, complaining about my assertion (not!) that The Anchor is the oldest pub in Hastings (evidence exists that the Anchor has been licensed since 1798). Well, Alan, I said, in the issue dated 21st November 2014: 

"any letters from readers providing extra guidance would help me out. To help me reach a firm conclusion... So the Anchor is my starting point..." 

Sounds easy to understand to me... 

So, what evidence does Alan provide in his letter? First, the owners, Shepherd Neame, say that the Stag is the oldest pub in Hastings, and that the Anchor is the second eldest, well that's proof then! Oh no it isn't, actually. The Stag may be a slightly rebuilt (the front in the 18th century) older building than the Anchor, but even that doesn't provide evidence that the building has been continually run as a pub since 1547, whatever Derek at the History House says in support of the Kent brewers claims, where is the evidence please? 

Indeed, I was very interested in how long the Stag has been run as a pub, and had already contacted Shepherd Neame directly, before Alan's letter was published in the paper, and am still awaiting their reply; they have been very good at providing information to me in the past, so I am expecting a reply reasonably soon. Whatever, and I shall be writing about the Stag in more detail, once I have completed further empirical research, there IS evidence that the Stag has been licensed since 1835, 37 years after the Anchor...   

So what other pubs in Hastings am I researching then? There's the claim of the Cinque Port Arms, down the road from the Stag, to start with, though substantially rebuilt in the early 20th century, the fundamental building was a pub as long ago as the 17th century, previously known as the Chequers. However, as the Cinque Port Arms, there is only evidence that it has been licensed since 1816, 19 years before the Stag...  

Still in the old town, what about the Hastings Arms, which has been licensed since 1794, 41 years before the Stag? Again, I shall deal with this in more detail in future blogs, and I am in no way saying that this evidence makes the Hastings Arms an older pub than the Stag, which is definitely an older building, but it isn't quite so simple to define what is the oldest continuously run pub in Hastings... 

Before I end this blog, and credit to pointing me to The Bull on the Bexhill Road as a potential in this quest, must go to John Hodges, many thanks John. Evidence exists that The Bull, yet another Shepherd Neame pub, has been licensed by Hastings authorities since 1622! However, I have to carry out much more research on this, and the other 4 pubs of course, before I am even going to try and provide a definitive answer to my initial question, just what is the oldest pub in Hastings?

Please be patient, and I hope this is a subject of interest to people, cheers!