The Shepherd & Crook, Burmarsh
A further Romney Marsh gem, the Shepherd and Crook is another genuinely old (and listed) building. Just how old, however, is open to conjecture. Sources record a building here in the 16th century, although much of the current structure dates from around 1750. It’s also been claimed that, in the 15th century, the King’s Hospitallers provided food, drink and shelter for weary travellers and knights and monks on pilgrimages to Canterbury from here; and also that parts of the building are even of the same stone as the adjacent 12th century church.
What is more verifiable is that the Shepherd & Crook didn’t formally become a pub until 1801 and has since had a history of ownership by established Marsh families.
Burmarsh and the Shepherd & Crook have for centuries been involved with sheep farming and, inevitably, smuggling (and both also feature in the Doctor Syn novels). In the late 19th century, the pub was one of four local venues used by the Romney Marsh hare coursing club.
At the turn of the 20th century, it became the home for Sunday services when the church was being renovated and, during WWII, soldiers were billeted here.
A story is told that the colonel made himself deeply unpopular by dint of commandeering the only decent bed, and that his subordinates responded by capturing a lamb and putting it in the bed with him! It was, however, noted for being a very quiet pub for a long time, right up until 1957 when it was sold by Whitbread and became a free house. The upstairs room was then turned into a dance hall and the place flourished.
The Grade II listed building suffered significant damage in the great storm of 1987, with the loss of numerous windows and a chimney toppling and crashing through the roof. Soon fully restored, the pub offers a lovely glimpse of village life in the summer via its sheltered garden, and has a welcoming open fire in winter months. The Shepherd & Crook has for long displayed items of local history as well as antiques, and these have included a pair of Queen Victoria’s stockings.
