The Crown & Sceptre

Sadly, the pub closed in 2012. It has been converted into two homes, and two further homes were built on its former car park...

“Acol’s sole hostelry began life as two separate farm dwellings as long ago as 1660. The cellars show two large open fireplaces as well as the remains of a 17th century bakehouse. The property, part of a smallholding, had belonged to the Holloway family since the reign of Charles II. Like many early pubs it appears to have developed as a sideline to the owner’s main occupation, be it cooper, farmer or wheelwright. The owner’s wife would be in charge of the brewhouse, selling the “grog” in either the front parlour or on the alebench outside.

“Whether the ‘sideline’ had blossomed into the principal source of income when Anne Holloway sold the property to John Friend of Birchington in 1770, is not clear. It was still divided into two dwellings, one of which was used as a beer house. The great age of coaching shaped the Crown and Sceptre. Ideally situated on the turnpike road to Margate, it integrated into a recommended inn, tied to the old Cobb brewery.

“The outspoken William Cobbett MP arrived at the inn on horseback. This crusader for the rural poor, "“breakfasted” at the pub in 1823 after turning away in revulsion from Margate; too many rich “stock-jobbing cuckolds” for his egalitarian taste. Sadly the Crown and Sceptre did not appeal to him either. “No corn for my horse, and no bacon for myself! All was corn around me……. a public house without either bacon or corn”, he complained in his Rural Rides. Cobbett’s horse could have enjoyed a watering however, for opposite the pub, just beyond “Surprise House”, used to be a large pond, dissected by a wooden bridge known as “Acol pier”. Here the stagecoachmen refreshed their teams, while the passengers enjoyed the hospitality at the inn.

“Today the old stables and barn have been converted to a games room. This Whitbread house has a thriving local and passing trade. A charming oak beamed rear bar, real ale, and a well-kept beer garden, are obvious attractions. Nowadays there is no danger from the waggish attentions of the ex-landlord who delighted in snipping off customers’ ties to the knot and pinning them to the bar wall. No doubt he ended up pinned to the wall himself! Another long gone charmer was a beautiful white cockatoo. On the day its owner gave up the pub tenancy, the bird went too – not in its cage, but through the window, never to be seen again!”