Star Inn 1970s

Folkestone Gazette 24-6-1970

Local News

Thieves who broke into the Star Inn at Newington in the early hours of Saturday morn­ing got away with about £50 in cash from a till. They are thought to have got in through a window at the side of the building.

Photo from Folkestone Herald

Folkestone Herald 1-4-1978

Local News

Millions of customers have passed through the welcoming doors of the Star Inn at New­ington since the pub first opened in the eighteenth century. But after Tuesday weary travellers, thirsty soldiers from nearby Shorncliffe Camp and a host of regulars will no longer be able to drop in for a refreshing pint or a meal. The pub will close its doors for the last time - in the name of progress.

Veteran landlord and land­lady, Gerry and Flo Cross, will pull their last pints be­fore leaving the pub after 20 years behind the bar. They will not be replaced because the old Star will be demolished. It will be crushed by the bulldozer to make room for link roads planned for the new M20 motorway. The nearby A20 road will become a flyover above the new stretch of the M20 route passing through Sellindge, Stanford and Newington.

The original pub, built in the 1700s, was rebuilt about 100 years ago. For years it has been popu­lar with regulars, including many troops, as well as with motorists on their way to the sea and the Continent. A large car park, beer garden, swings and slides for the children made it an ideal stop for travellers.

For five years Mr. and Mrs. Cross, both aged 64, have lived under the cloud of demolition threats. When they hand over the pub keys to the Department of the Environment on Wednesday that threat will become a reality. “We are resigned to it, but nobody wanted it to happen”, Gerry told me. “Twice we have had compulsory purchase orders served on us. But nothing happened because of lack of money, but we have lost a lot of customers. We could have carried on for at least another five or six years, but it`s too late to start another business now”.

Mrs. Cross agreed that the move was sad, but inevitable. “We don’t want to go”, she said. “It has been our home for 20 years. I am quite happy to go on cooking shepherds pies for ever”.

There are two more friendly faces who will be missed, Alf Wollett, part-time barman for 25 years, and Mrs. Daisy Foss, bar­maid for 19 years.

Gerry and Flo plan to take a well-earned holiday before moving to a bungalow in Folkestone. They have spent 30 years in the licensing trade, and were mine hosts at three pubs in Margate before mov­ing to Newington. But they liked it at the Star so much, they never felt the urge to move again. “We have been here so long now, that often young soldiers come in and tell us that their dads used to drink here”, said Flo.

There is still uncertainty over what will happen about one of the pub’s most distinc­tive features, a mural in oils, which takes up one wall in the saloon bar. It depicts the pub’s interior and customers in days gone by. It is believed to be the only one left of five similar murals painted by an itiner­ant Irish artist who died in 1949.

I believe his name was Sean O’Leary. He asked no fee for his work, other than his keep and a drink at the bar. Apart from the Star, he wielded his brushes at the old Hotel Wampach, the old Pleasure Gardens Theatre, the Guildhall Hotel and the Black Horse at Swingfield. “I think our painting, which is very large, will have to go when the demolition men move in, but it will be a shame”, said Gerry.

 

Folkestone Herald 8-4-1978

Local News

Landlord of the Star Inn, Newington, stopped serving refreshments this week when the building was officially handed over to the Depart­ment of the Environment. The pub will eventually be pulled down in the name of progress - to make way for the M20 link roads, and mine hosts Flo and Gerry Cross are retiring.

The brewery`s area manager, Mr. John Norton, applied for a protection order, which was granted, at Folkestone Magistrates` Court on Tuesday. There were a few sad faces in Court, including that of Inspector Peter Ford, who said “We would merely like to express our regrets at the passing of such an ancient monument”. The Inspector wished Mr. And Mrs. Cross best wishes in their retirement.

Mr. Norton said “Mr. Cross will be giving up his rights of interest”.