Photograph reproduced by the kind permission of Shaun Jeffery
On the site which was occupied by the post office for most of the 20th century we now have “The Humphrey Bean”, a JD Weatherspoon pub. However, long before the post office was even thought of there stood a
pub called “We Three Loggerheads” – and Humphrey Bean was the landlord!
It is interesting to speculate who the real Humphrey Bean was. Perhaps he was the most imposing of the three aproned gentlemen;
the one standing in the doorway... Incidentally, this doorway is of the adjacent property. Maybe the landlord lived here? Or maybe they just shuffled down the road a bit to present a better picture. We will never know... Humphrey Bean was born in 1850, in
Mayfield Sussex. His father, George Bean, was a shoemaker. George had several siblings including a brother, Humphrey, who was his elder by 10yrs. Thus our Humphrey had an Uncle Humphrey who worked as a farm bailiff.
Humphrey’s grandparents (George’s parents) were William and Mary, both born in 1791, making them 50 years old at the time of the 1841 census. In the 1891 census, Humphrey, described as a “Licensed Victualler” was recorded as living
at “84 High St, Tunbridge”. Interestingly, by 1901 his address was 23 Colebrook Road (Southborough) – and his profession listed as “Tailor”...
Now, if you are wondering why the sign
only shows two loggerheads... That’s a joke. Guess who the third one was! Apparently, it was meant to be oneself. The Loggerheads was owned by Bartram’s Brewery. (See August and September newsletters for further information on this brewery.) Sadly,
the Loggerheads was demolished in a road widening scheme in 1908.