The Black Prince is a hotel in the London Borough of Bexley, contained in a landscaped part of the intersection of the A2 dual carriageway. The intersection is for Bexley and much of

Bexleyheath Bexleyheath is a town in south-east London, England. It had a population of 31,929 as at 2011. Bexleyheath is located south-east of Charing Cross, and forms part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

. At first it was a public house with function rooms. Its name draws on the local history of Edward, the Black Prince of the fourteenth century and his wife Joan of Kent. It has a secondary, larger, hotel-only wing. The hotel is owned and operated by Holiday Inn, has a restaurant, bar, outdoor seating, meeting rooms and a guests' gym.

Road junction

The A2 dual carriageway has four spurs to two roundabouts for lesser roads which are linked by a long curved bridge. The lesser roads are: the A223 which runs northeast to

Crayford Crayford is a town and electoral ward in South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the historic county of Kent until 1965. The settlement deve ...

and south to Bexley; and the A220 which runs north to Bexleyheath and

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies nort ...

. On contemporary traffic reports, the junction is known as the ''Black Prince Interchange''.

Transformation to hotel

The tall, two-storey, north, reception-hosting wing has a grand chimneyed,

Tudorbethan Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

main façade. It has two mock-beamed

wall dormer A wall dormer is a dormer whose facial plane is integral with the facial plane of the wall that it is built into, breaking the line of the eaves of a building. Wall dormers are less commonly seen than typical “roof dormers”. They locate the w ...

s to recesses flanking a main link dormer; it has octagonal-theme, gabled, geometric style with octagonal porch and the princely arms above. It was a spacious, modern public house/entertainment facility, built by Charringtons in the 1930s as a modest roadhouse. The site is named after Edward, the Black Prince who married Joan of Kent, seized of

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...

and other manors. He was a celebrated battle leader in France in the first phase of the Hundred Years' War (1337–1360). Reputedly his ghost haunts the later building or grounds of

Hall Place Hall Place is a stately home in the London Borough of Bexley in south-east London, built in 1537 for Sir John Champneys, a wealthy merchant and former Lord Mayor of London. The house was extended in 1649 by Sir Robert Austen, a merchant from T ...

. Edward Heath stayed at the hotel as part of his campaign to become MP for Bexley in the 1950 general election. The later south wing, of three storeys, linked, enlarges the hotel. In the 1960s and 70s, the pub was a popular live music venue, and featured appearances from Little Walter, the Graham Bond Organisation, Cream and

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

. It is alleged that

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

played his last gig with

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

's Bluesbreakers at the venue in 1966. The hotel has hosted the annual Kent International Piano and Keyboard Fair since 2001.

Local tradition

Oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

maintained, as at 1911, Hall Place, across the main road, was a shooting-box for deer of the Black Prince,''The Selborne Magazine and "Nature Notes": The Organ of the Selborne Society''. England: H. Sotheran & Company, 1911 at pages 210 to 211 whose Kent Yeoman fought among others at the Battle of Poitiers. The Att/Atte Hall or Hall family kept occupation of the manor house until 1367 when after seeing "months" of entertaining Edward and his wife Joan of Kent they were forced to sell it.''The Selborne Magazine and "Nature Notes": The Organ of the Selborne Society.'' England: H. Sotheran & Company, 1911 at page 110

References

{{reflist, 30em Hotels in London Road junctions in London Music venues in London Music venues in Kent Pubs in the London Borough of Bexley