Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
From a ‘famous brawl’ to fine dining
The Bridge Arms, which today attracts foodies from afar, was for centuries a traditional village pub...
Last November, Dan and Tasha Smith took over the White Horse in Bridge and quickly set about transforming the traditional village pub. The couple had completed a similar job at the Fordwich Arms a few years earlier, turning it into a Michellinstarred restaurant.
Living just 10 doors down from the White Horse, they worked at full-speed to make it another destination for foodies in the district. They renamed it the Bridge Arms and earned a rave review in The Times within days of opening in April.
While the menu may have a very modern feel today, the pub itself dates back centuries.
Christopher Applegate, a contemporary of 16th century playwright Christopher Marlowe, is said to have been involved in a “famous brawl” in the White Horse, according to Cathedral archives. An exact date for the legendary pub fight is not known.
It has a large Tudor fireplace in the bar with moulded beams above.
In 1840, a brief article appeared in the Kentish Gazette about a pair of black and white pigs which had ambled into the pub. It said: “This is to give notice that unless the owner takes them away, on paying expenses [...] they will be sold by auction, in the Cattle Market, Canterbury.”
In the 1930s, the licensee was former Kent cricketer William John Fairservice, whose claim to fame is that the first ever professional wicket he took was that of W. G. Grace considered one of the sport’s greatest players.
It was taken over in 2019 by Christian Diamant but little over a year later he was jailed for having child abuse images on his phone. Things looked bleak for the White Horse as the windows were boarded up after being smashed by vandals.
But there’s no doubt it’s been given a new lease of life as The Bridge Arms, with a bright future ahead for the historic pub.
Pictures used with kind permission of Paul Skelton, of dover-kent.com.