Looking for a place to go this weekend in Hythe so checked The White Hart website. I found out The pub was built during reign of Richard II in 1395, good grief can that be right??? No idea how much of the original building is there, very little I would guess. In 1475 it was registered under the title The Whyte Heart, now the White Hart Hotel. The present facade dates from the 17th Century.
More history:
In 1814, the Tsar of Russia and the Emperor of Prussia had lunch there whilst visiting the defences... and once again was the meeting place for preparation for another invasion with Montgomery and Eisenhower preparing for D-Day.
There is a 16th Century courtyard with an outside bar being planned for Summer 2011 along with food areas to eat Al Fresco. There is a 20 cover restaurant with original oak beams and 16th Century inglenook fireplace.
16th century fireplace, ahah so some of the interior is older than the current exterior. All this history has inspired me to visit again this weekend. And they do real ale too!
This is part of my site The Folkestone Gerald that I built in a fury of excitement when we first came to Folkestone sometime in 2004. I'd been a frequent visitor for a few years before that but I am technically one of those DFLs you get nowadays. The site was a lot more dynamic with a calendar of events and voting for favourite places and things, and I know it was a handy resource for those who were thinking of moving here. Now I've moved out of Folkestone again (though just a couple of miles) it doesn't get as much love as it used to. Ironic really as The town is now becoming the exciting place we always thought it was about to become. My name is not Gerald by the way, this comes from a pretend paper in an episode of The Day Today or something, the Portsmouth Gerald, and how there is a local newspaper here called the Folkestone Herald. Puns like this are great aren't they? Do get in touch if you have something to contribute, email anythign @ this domain, or try @folkestone or @pauly on Twitter.