The Crooked Billet is a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
at 99 High Street,
Penge
Penge () is a suburb of South East Greater London, London, England, now in the London Borough of Bromley, west of Bromley, north east of Croydon and south east of Charing Cross.
Etymology
The name ''Penge'' is first attested in charter of ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
SE20 7DT. It was built in 1827 and is the oldest pub in Penge. It is part of the Craft Union Pub Company.
Background
The name 'Penge' originates from the Celtic word ‘penceat’ which means ‘edge of wood’ in the
Brittonic languages
The Brittonic languages (also Brythonic or British Celtic; ; ; and ) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages; the other is Goidelic. It comprises the extant languages Breton, Cornish, and Welsh. The name ''Brythonic'' ...
. There appears to be
Celts
The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
living here for many years on what was a luscious common with medieval woodland.
History
The Crooked Billet was constructed in 1827, rebuilt in 1840 and then extended in 1925.
Outside the original double-fronted house was an ancient oak tree and a wooden seat where locals sat and talked. It became a popular meeting place for many decades to come. Coaches used to stop at the old inn on their way to London to change or refresh the horses, with the coachdriver and passengers stocking up on food and home-brewed ale.
Legend has it that as the hamlet was so heavily wooded, a sign had to be placed on the main road to guide the traveller to the overnight shelter. This sign was a bent or knotted branch and the ‘crooked billet’ led to the pub's name. The building was badly damaged during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
which meant the top floor had to be removed and rebuilt in the 1950s.
In literature
William Hone
William Hone (3 June 1780 – 8 November 1842) was an English writer, satirist and bookseller. His victorious court battle against government censorship in 1817 marked a turning point in the fight for British press freedom.
Biography
Hon ...
was an English writer, satirist and bookseller. He wrote about a visit to the pub in 1827. He and a friend ate eggs, bacon and spinach from the pub garden. They sat in a comfortable parlour, with a bow-window view of Penge Common. He said the house affords as good accommodation for man and horse as can be found in any retired spot so near London. His friend sketched an illustration of the pub.
Sport
A field behind the Crooked Billet pub was where
the first Crystal Palace FC played their home games between 1864 and 1866 after their pitch in
Crystal Palace Park
Crystal Palace Park is a park in south-east London, Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. It was laid out in the 1850s as a pleasure ground, centred around the re-location of The Crystal Palace – the largest glass ...
became unavailable.
England's second football captain and second oldest player,
Alexander Morten
Alexander Morten (some sources say "Alec Morten") (15 November 1831 – 24 February 1900) was a footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He captained the England team in its second official international, played against Scotland on 8 March 1873. ...
, played on the ground for the club and probably enjoyed some ales in the pub afterwards.
Football Association
A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...
administrator
Charles W. Alcock
Charles William Alcock (2 December 1842 – 26 February 1907) was an English sportsman, administrator, author and editor. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of t ...
, who devised the FA Cup and international football, played on the field for the
Wanderers F.C.
Wanderers Football Club was an English association football club. It was founded as "Forest Football Club" in 1859 in Leytonstone. In 1864, it changed its name to "Wanderers", a reference to it never having a home stadium, instead playing at ...
The Crooked Billet Ground also hosted cricket with Penge United playing matches there between 1856 and 1858. Sydenham Albion Cricket Club was using the field as their home ground in 1865. After the opening match of their season, "a very excellent lunch was provided on the ground by Mr Matthews, of the Crooked Billet Tavern, Penge."
[Sydenham Times, 9 May 1865, p8]
References
{{Pubs in London
1633 establishments in England
Coaching inns