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The King George V was built in 1690 and is one of the oldest drinking houses in the Medway Towns. There are always four real ales on tap, a Kentish cider, around 60 bottled Belgium beers, almost 40 single malt whiskies and a large collection of rums.
The pub features in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and is accredited by Cask Marque.
Food is an important feature. Lunch is served between 1200 and 1400 from Monday to Saturday and dinner between 1830 and 2030 from Tuesday to Saturday. A Sunday roast is served between 1300 and 1600 but it is advisable to reserve your table because we are often fully booked. You can also get a pizza to eat in or take-away almost any time the pub is open. We also have special containers so that you can take home two pints of your favorite ale, lager or cider.
The pub has a live acoustic music session on the last Sunday evening of the month. There are special events organised throughout the year, which you can check out on this site. This all makes the King George V a real 'home' for regulars and visitors. The King George V in Brompton is one of the oldest pubs in Medway and is continuing the tradition of being an ale house.
History
It was build in 1690 as two cottages which were knocked into one to make the present building. The address is 1 Prospect Row but the back bar, kitchen and toilets are what used to be 8 Garden Street.
Documents in the Medway archives show that in the 16th Century the property was known as the Prince of Orange. Sometime at the end of that century or the beginning of the next one it was changed to the King of Prussia which it remained until the start of the First World War. The first licencee on record was Thomas White in 1758 and he traded on the site for nine years.
In 1851 the pub was run by Richard Brook who paid an annual rent of £32.
The place has had a chequered past. In 1860 Daniel Buckley – who was said to be a dirty looking man – was a waiter at the King of Prussia. He appeared before the local bench charged with having a pair of regimental boots in his possession – he not being the owner. The case was proved and the bench fined him seven shillings which included costs.
Again in 1860 Mary Ann Cooper was charged with stealing a copper tea kettle from the pub. She was sent for trial but it’s unclear what happened to her. Still in the same year, Joseph Coppin was convicted of having his ale house open for the sale of beer before 1230 on a Sunday. It was 0745 and he was fined ten shillings with another ten shillings costs. Two months later he repeated the offence but this time he was fined 40 shillings with eight shillings costs. A witness was paid one shilling and six pence out of public funds.
In 1872 the pub moved into the hands of Thomas Winch – part of the Maidstone Style and Winch brewing family.
However, only a year later the licence was forfeited when William Baker was convicted of permitting the premises to be used as a brothel. Before it could open again, the next licencee had to satisfy the magistrates that the house would be properly run.
It was in 1914 that the pub changed its name for the last time. It was seen as unpatriotic to be called the King of Prussia because we were at war with the Prussians and it’s said by the locals that the windows were stoned.
At one time there were more than 40 pubs in Brompton – now there are just four.
The King George V has a strong feel of the military connections around the area. The walls are decorated with memorabilia from the former naval dockyard and the various army barracks nearby. It was always known as the pub the officers used – and they still do to this day.
It’s a simple yet attractive pub with old oak beams and a charm from another era. Nothing much has changed inside for many years. |
Licencees of The King Of Prussia
1758 – 1767 Thomas White
1808 – 1813 John Sturla Jnr
1813 – 1816 Richard Chidney
1816 – 1817 Joseph Chidney
1817 – 1818 Richard Chidney
1818 – 1819 John Ludweeks
1819 – 1820 John Adams
1820 – 1825 John Chidney
1825 – 1827 William Eveling
1827 – 1830 David Garland
1830 – 1836 Ann Makinson
1836 – 1842 Robert Sowter
1842 – 1848 Robert Field
1848 – 1849 James Holloway
1849 – 1851 Richard Brook
1851 – 1852 John Morgan
1852 – 1853 William Deacon
1853 – 1855 James Thomas Atkins
1855 – 1859 William Charles Hunt
1859 – 1860 Charlotte Fuller
1860 – 1861 John Mould
1861 – 1862 Ebeneser Nicholas
1862 – 1863 John Small Sedger
1863 – 1865 Harriet Atkins
1865 – 1868 William Date
1868 – 1871 Joseph Coppin
1871 – 1872 Richard Morgan
1872 – 1873 William Baker
1873 - Charles Firmin (not confirmed)
1874 - No record of this year
1875 – 1884 Alfred Snelling
1884 – 1898 Joseph Henry Draper
1898 – 1914 Frank Thomas Drury
Licencees of The King George V
1914 – 1924 Frank Thomas Drury
1924 – 1930 Alfred Royal
1930 – 1934 Francis George Leon
1934 – 1938 Albert Clark
1938 – 1940 George Thomas Smith
1940 – 1941 Leslie Alexander
1941 – 1954 Reginald Harry How
1954 – 1956 Frederick George Harris
1956 – 1958 Arthur Harold Woods
1958 – 1979 Alan & Barbara Kennardy
1979 – 1988 Romvydas
Andruskevicius
1988 – 1999 Alan & Barbara McNichol
1999 – 2004 Mark & Maureen Boland
2004 – present John & Diane Brice
John, Mark & Romas
Mark & Romas |
The Pub
