Robin Hood (Upper Halling)

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The probable location of the former Robin Hood.

[[File:|thumb|right|500px|Here was a beer shop and garden 1881–1901, almost certainly the Robin Hood / Google Earth Street View.]]

By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2020-11-07. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2020-11-08.

The Robin Hood in Halling, Kent, was in existence by 1881 and at least as late as 1901. It was almost certainly situated at what is now The Street, Upper Halling.

As noted at the Pub Wiki, the pub is listed under Halling in the 1881 and 1901 censuses.^[1] It is entered in the 1881 census as "'Robin Hood' Beer house"^[2] at 'Mills cottages[,] Crab's Corner'^[3] and in that of 1901 as "'Robin Hood' Inn".^[4] However, without the first-hand knowledge of the area which the census-taker no doubt had, a bit of detective work is required to establish the probable site.

A look at the census records shows that the area was traversed from roughly south to north in 1881 but in the opposite direction in 1901. Among the stops on the route followed in 1881 which can be located on the early O.S. maps (listed below) are, in the south: the Black Boy public house (at 51.3485,0.4255) and Chapel Houses (at 51.3487,0.4258). and in the north, Warren House (at 51.3648,0.4433).

The census-taker also called at households at Jupp's, Lee's, Formby, and Mills Cottages, the two latter being both located at Crab's or Crabb's Corner.^[5] Lee and Formby are names of major, and Jupp and Mills those of minor landowners in the area. Here, listed under each landowner, are the plots of land that could be relevant:

Jupp: In the 1840 tithe schedule, Edward Jupp is owner/occupier of a property described as 'Cottage Offices & Gardens' (at 51.3501,0.4458), on the west side of Kent Road (High Street).^[6] In that of 1855, the owner/occupier is Richard Jupp and the property is described as 'Cottages Offices & Garden', with the 's' in 'Cottages' indistinctly written or perhaps scratched out.^[7]
Lee: Among much else, cement factory owner William Lee in 1855 owned a cottage and garden (at or near 51.3417,0.4501) just north of the modern Peters Bridge Road, a 'Cottage[,] offices[,] yard & Garden' (at or near 51.3523,0.4431), and 'Cottages[,] Sheds & Gardens' in Upper Halling (at or near 51.3502,0.4278).^[8]
Formby: In addition to much other land (and businesses owned by his company), the Reverend James Formby was the owner of a cottage and garden on the west side of Pilgrim's Road (at 51.3555,0.4301), c. 235 m NNE of Upper Halling.^[9]
Mills: Harriet Mills (widow) was owner/occupier of a single piece of land, a pasture (at 51.3535,0.4438), the area between the present Kent and Essex roads.^[10]

This puts us in a dilemma, for the plots belonging to Mills and Jupp and the first of Lee's are on the east side of the A228, i.e. in Lower Halling, while the second of Lee's and that of Formby are in or near Upper Halling, well west of the A228. and it does not seem likely that the census-taker should have followed such a convoluted course, when focusing on one of the two Hallings at a time would have saved him much time and energy. At first sight a (modern?) reference to a person resident in 1885 at '3, Mills Cottages, Essex R[oa]d, Halling, Rochester'^[11] would seem to tell us where Mills Cottages were located, for the present Essex Road is on the east side of the A228, i.e. in Halling. However, in both census records the pub is listed in contexts which, apart from the ambiguous evidence of the 'cottages', point to a location well to the west of the A228. The solution to this paradox seems to be that The Street, in Upper Halling, and Vicarage Road, its continuation to the east, were then also named Essex Road. Before Halling was bisected by the A228, the present Vicarage Road continued directly east to meet up with the south end of the present Essex Road, and so it would not be unnatural if they were considered a single road at the time. While the cottages of Jupp, Formby, Mills, and Lee most probably owe their names to their owners, it does not seem possible to match them with plots of land listed in the tithe awards. While at first sight Harriet Mills's ownership of the plot of land now occupied by Kent and Essex Roads would seem to point very clearly to Mills Cottages, and hence the Robin Hood, being situated on the present Essex Road, there is the major problem that it is listed in the 1884 tithe schedule as pasture. This would not be a proper classification of a piece of land on which seven cottages stood. The evidence of the censuses strongly suggests that the pub was instead located in the village of Upper Halling.

Going from roughly north to south in 1901, the census-taker's stops included the following:

Tenioth House (at 51.3678,0.4489)
Warren House (as above)
The Flint House (at 51.3553,0.4053)
Stony Field Cottage (probably Stonyfield House at 51.3586,0.4259 or smaller building near it)
Crabb's Corner
Turk's Hall Place (not indicated on early maps, but in Google Earth Street View it can be seen that the house at 51.352205, 0.428026, in Upper Halling, is named 'Turk's Hall Place').^[12]

If these coordinates are plotted on a map, it is seen that Mills Cottages and hence Crab[b]'s Corner and the Robin Hood were likely located at the cluster of houses c, 75 metres southeast of the farm or other buildings labelled 'Upper Halling Court' on the map (now Court Farm). Though not labelled as such on the map, this is in fact the (original part of the) village of Upper Halling. Here the Pilgrim's Road and The Street (named Vicarage Road further east) intersect. A place where roads meet is a good place for business and so a likely location for a public house. In fact the 1840 tithe schedule lists the easternmost of the plots on the north side of what is now The Street, in Upper Halling, as a 'Beer Shop[,] Shed and Garden', owned by Maximillian Dudley Digges Dalison, Esq., and occupied by a William Holding. In 1877, the owner was the same but the occupier an Edward Norman, while in 1884 it was owned by Hilton, Anderson & Company and occupied by Lingham and Davis.^[13] This IRHB feels reasonably confident was the Robin Hood. The immediate vicinity, where several streets meet, would then have been known as Crabb's Corner. We can verify that this is the right area. The 36 year old Walter Crowhurst, general labourer, who figures at 1 Mills Cottages in the 1881 census,^[14] is listed in that of 1851 as a six year old 'scholar' with 'Upper Halling' cited in lieu of a street or 'cottage' name.^[15] Template:PnItemQry