The Seven Stars Inn is a 14th-century

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

Robertsbridge Robertsbridge is a village in the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge, and the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Hastings and 13 miles (21 km) south-east of Royal Tunbridge ...

, East Sussex, a well-preserved example of a medieval building and a typical Sussex village pub. It is associated with historical events, both real and rumoured. As of at least autumn 2016, it was closed for business.

Architecture

Built in about 1400 as a

Wealden hall house The Wealden hall house is a type of vernacular medieval timber-framed hall house traditional in the south east of England. Typically built for a yeoman, it is most common in Kent (hence "Wealden" for the once densely forested Weald) and the east ...

in traditional Wealden

timber frame Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

, the building is Grade II*

Listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

. It was altered in the 16th century and re-faced in the 19th century. It has a recessed centre, with curved timber

brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or ' ...

supporting the eaves. The first floor oversails on brackets, and has a

Crown-post A crown post is a term in traditional timber framing Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitt ...

-supported roof. Owned by Harveys, a brewery in Lewes, since February 2002, the pub has existed in its current form for at least 300 years.

History

Medieval Robertsbridge was granted a market charter in the 13th century, and quickly became prosperous. The Seven Stars dates from this era of early prosperity. The earliest surviving building in the village is only 10 years older. Folk history surrounding the building has rumoured that Charles II is said to have been confined there for a time during his escape from England following the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell d ...

. This is unlikely as Charles eventually escaped by ship from Shoreham, having travelled from the west.

Smugglers

Robertsbridge was within the area controlled by the

Hawkhurst Gang The Hawkhurst Gang was a notorious criminal organisation involved in smuggling throughout southeast England from 1735 until 1749. One of the more infamous gangs of the early 18th century, they extended their influence from Hawkhurst, their base i ...

, a criminal organisation involved in smuggling between 1735 and 1749. John Amos, a prominent member of the gang, lived in the village. The gang's influence extended from Kent to Dorset and they operated freely enough to use as many as 500 pack-horses to carry contraband, raiding a government

customs house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

to recover captured goods. Robertsbridge itself was the site of a famous ambush. Thirty smugglers assembled, fortified with alcohol, and ambushed a wagon-load of seized contraband

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

on Silver Hill, killing a

customs officer A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government. Canada Canadian customs officers are members of the Canada Border Services Agency. It was created in 2003 and preceded by the Canada Customs and ...

in the process. Member of Parliament Horace Walpole reported a miserable journey that ended at Robertsbridge in one of his letters to Richard Bentley, dated 5 August 1752. Arriving in "Rotherbridge" after passing Silver Hill, they found only one available bed, "all the rest were inhabited by smugglers".

Hauntings

According to a local newspaper, the building has been named as one of the top ten most haunted pubs in the country. In July 2013, it was reported that Hidden Worlds Paranormal Support Group would be investigating to help the owners deal with an alleged poltergeist and other ghostly activity.Bid to uncover truth behind haunted pub
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Citations

External links

1898 edition: complete searchable text
from

bartleby.com Bartleby.com was an electronic text archive, headquartered in Los Angeles (USA) and named for Herman Melville's story "Bartleby, the Scrivener". It was initiated with the name "Project Bartleby" in January 1993 as a collection of classic literatu ...

Details of Grade II Listing

Wikimapia Link
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seven Stars Inn Grade II* listed pubs in East Sussex Tourist attractions in East Sussex Robertsbridge