Dering Arms, Pluckley

Very close to Pluckley station, Pluckley was the home of Sir Edward Dering, 1st Baronet, MP for Hythe and the Member for Kent in The Long Parliament. The Dering Arms was originally built as a hunting lodge for the family's weekend guests and owned by the estate, built around the time of the coming of the railway line from London to the Kent coast in the 1840s.

The inn has a lot of Dutch gables and mullioned, arched and leaded windows, some etched with the Dering family's coat of arms. It has thick stone walls, studded oak doors, stone floors and a blazing log fire in winter. In the 17th century the Cavalier Dering escaped the Roundheads through one of the windows.

The Dering estate was sold in 1928 and the guesthouse/hunting lodge became a pub.

If you pull back the right-hand hand pump in the left bar, you will see, very faintly, the date of 1931 stamped on the quadrant part of the mechanism. A nice little bit of tying history together.

The chef utilises fresh local ingredients and specialises in award-winning seafood but there’s plenty of choice for non-seafood lovers and with enough warning is prepared to shop for the ingredients to create your special meal.

During the autumn and winter months there are black-tie gourmet evenings which include a 7-course gourmet meal and a chance to dress up in your best for a delightful and memorable meal.