Fans of Charles Dickens will be aware that there are a number of pubs around London which were frequented by the famous writer. However, Dickens did not confine his imbibing to our capital city. He got about the country a fair bit, and no doubt found suitable watering holes wherever he went.
One particular part of the country with strong Dickens associations is the county of Kent, since he spent part of his life living there, first as a child, then later, following his separation from his wife Catherine, buying a house in Higham, between Rochester and Gravesend. Near Gravesend is the village of Cobham, with the picturesque Leather Bottle inn, dating from around 1629. Dickens used to enjoy rambles in the Kentish countryside, and he often stopped by here for liquid refreshment.
The 'Leather Bottle', Cobham - geograph.org.uk - 2209048. Photo by Roger Smith, via Wikimedia Commons.
Not only was the pub visited by Dickens himself, but it featured in one of his most famous works, The Pickwick Papers. There is a scene in which Pickwick enters the pub with his companions Winkle and Snodgrass, to find another character Tracy Tupman, recently dumped by Rachel Wardle, sitting there with a magnificent feast before him.
In 2012, the BBC website carried a story about a single hair from Dickens’ head which had taken pride of place in the pub. The hair was raffled to raise money for the restoration of the ‘chalet’ in Rochester where Dickens wrote many of his works.
No comments:
Post a Comment