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| Happy Frenchman, date unknown. Photo credit John Law |
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| Happy Frenchman 1999. Credit Martin Easdown |
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| Happy Frenchman, 2009 Credit Paul Skelton (from http://www.dover-kent.com/Happy-Frenchman-Folkestone.html) |
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| Happy Frenchman, unknown date (from http://www.dover-kent.com/Happy-Frenchman-Folkestone.html) |
Licensees
Michael Burge 1979 1982
Edwin Fulford and Frank Smith 1982 1984
Eric Wallis and Robert O`Hara 1984 1986
Ronald Paton 1986 1988
Ronald Paton and Dennis Page 1988 1991
Ronald Paton and Susan Paton 1991 1992 As West End
Gary Meyer and Wendy McIntyre 1992 1993
Anthony Sanger, Nicholas Cox and Scott Parkin 1993 1995
George Savage and Andrea Pullar 1995 1996
George Savage and Anthony Gregory 1996 1997
Anthony Gregory and Rachel Escott 1997 1997
Andrew Cowan and Sarah Walters (Later Cowan) 1997 2004
Andrew Cowan 2004 2004 +
Folkestone Herald
14-7-1979
Local News
Regulars are angry because of changes to
their local pub. Some are so
bitter they intend to drink elsewhere because, they say, the old atmosphere has
been lost.
The new-look Happy Frenchman, formerly the West Cliff Shades, in Christ
Church Road, Folkestone, re-opened on Wednesday after alterations and
decorations work costing £48,000. Three small bars have
been knocked into one and new Victorian-style furniture has been brought in. But many old customers are not happy with the only Courage
pub in town, and they do not like the new name. One described it as grotesque.
Between sips Thomas
Walker said “They have spent a lot of money here but have made it a sort of London
pub. The old pub needed decorating but they
have gone a bit too far. Before it was more of a family place where people met
and conversed in a close atmosphere. Now this is lost because it is more
spaced out. The room is too big”.
Henry Harrold, of
Burrow Road, Folkestone, doesn`t like the name. “The
French have done their best to wipe out English names, so I do not see why it
had to be the Happy Frenchman, it should have been Englishman”, he said.
Jock, Charlie, Bill
and George have been drinking at the pub for many years. Now Charlie and George
are to drink elsewhere.
They complained that pool tables, which
were popular with the young people, have gone. “It is no longer an ordinary
working man`s drinking pub”, Charlie said.
New landlord, Mike Burge, said on
Thursday “I think most people are happy with the pub, and surprised at the
change. It is hard to tell who are the old regulars; on the first night there were
many people in the place. Today we have had many people from surrounding
offices, who were highly delighted at the change. As to
the pool table it was a company decision not to have one. The ambiance of the
house would not benefit by having a pool table”.
Colin Bray, Courage
(Eastern) Ltd's public relations manager, said the name was changed because of
Folkestone’s close links with France.
South Kent Gazette
2-7-1980
Local News
An eighteen-year-old Folkestone man elected trial by jury
on two burglary charges when he appeared before local Magistrates last week.
Gary Cooper, of Hill Road, was remanded in custody to await his trial at the
Crown Court. He did not apply for bail.
Cooper is accused of breaking into the Happy Frenchman
pub, stealing cash and other items, worth a total of £90, in April. He is also
charged with burgling the Carlton Hotel, Folkestone, on June 1, stealing more
than £170.
Folkestone Herald
6-9-1980
Local News
A landlord and his “strong arm man” were accused at at
Folkestone Magistrates` Court on Tuesday of frogmarching a man out of a pub.
Sean Stephen Coyne, aged 19, of Tyson Road, Folkestone,
had admitted assaulting landlord Michael Burge, causing actual bodily harm, at
the Happy Frenchman, Folkestone. He was fined £75 and ordered to pay £50
compensation and £25 costs.
Mr. Christopher Kumaru, prosecuting, said Coyne not only
went into the pub to drink what was available, but also took his own
half-bottle of gin. Mr. Morrison, the landlord`s assistant saw him talking very
loudly and using bad language, said Mr. Kumaru. He was leaning against the bar
to support himself. Then Mr. Morrison told him “That`s your last one, you have
had enough to drink”. Mr. Burge came over, noticing that Coyne was unsteady on
his feet. Because of Coyne`s behaviour, Mr. Burge took hold of Coyne`s forearm
and put his other arm round his waist in an effort to propel him to the door,
said Mr. Kumaru. Coyne became aggressive, lost his balance, and fell, shouting
and kicking, to the floor.
Defending, Mr. Tony Radcliffe, said that at the time his
client`s hair was much longer and he was unshaven. “There was a pincer movement
from the landlord and his strong-arm-man and he was simply frogmarched out of
the pub and pulled to the ground outside”, he told the Court. His client
perhaps over-reacted in the way he dealt with the landlord. The hand grip
applied to him was very painful and he kicked out in a reactionary way, Mr.
Radcliffe added.
South Kent Gazette
29-7-1981
Local News
A barmaid who continued to claim social security while
she was working was fined £25 by Folkestone magistrates on Thursday.
Susan Stroud, of
Springfield Way, Seabrook, admitted making a false representation to obtain
£3.30 supplementary benefit last November when she was working at the Happy
Frenchman pub in Folkestone.
South Kent Gazette
12-1-1983
Local News
Two coats worth a total of £140 have been stolen from the
Happy Frenchman public house in Christ Church Road. The coats, a sheepskin and
an army combat jacket, nelong to Michael and Kevin Scott, of Surrenden Road, Cheriton.
South Kent Gazette
27-7-1983
Local News
Stealing a beer glass from a Folkestone pub cost 22-year-old Kevin Neal
£20. Neal, of Wiltie Gardens, Folkestone, admitted the offence when he
appeared before Folkestone Magistrates last Tuesday.
Inspector Peter Hopkins, prosecuting, said Neal was stopped by a police
officer on June 30 as he walked along Christ Church Road, Folkestone, carrying the
glass. He said the pint glass, worth 50 pence, was from the Happy Frenchman
public house. When the officer asked him to take it back he became “extremely
aggressive", Mr Hopkins said. After he was arrested Neal continued to be
uncooperative, he added.
Fining him £20, Magistrate Miss Dion Moody asked why he did not
cooperate.
Neal replied he had handcuffs on.
Folkestone Herald
28-12-1984
Local News
A barman who stole money from the pub
where he worked was jailed for six months by Folkestone Magistrates last
Friday. Michael Liddy, 27, formerly of Dover Road, Folkestone, admitted stealing
£132 from a £156 till float while employed at the Happy Frenchman pub in June.
Inspector Desmond Perrott, prosecuting,
told the court the defendant disappeared after the money went missing. He was
later arrested in London.
Liddy told Magistrates he took the
money to pay rent, but arrived at a Dover Road guest house to find his room had been let to someone else. He then travelled to London and used
the stolen cash to stay in an hotel.
The court heard that Liddy was in breach of a year’s conditional
discharge and a three-month suspended jail term. He was jailed for three months for the theft of the money and the
suspended sentence was activated to run consecutively. He was also ordered to pay £132
compensation within six months.
Folkestone Herald
21-2-1986
Local News
A day of Christmas drinking ended with a youth attacking a policeman
after damaging goods in a Folkestone pub.
Glasses and an ashtray were smashed and a sofa
damaged after the 16-year-old attacked another youngster in the
Happy Frenchman pub, Inspector Colin Breed told juvenile court magistrates. He had gone back to the pub after being told to leave by the landlord.
Then he had been restrained from assaulting the other youth. But the
Folkestone boy returned to the bar and lunged at the other youth, throwing
punches. In the confusion, glasses and an ashtray were
knocked from the table onto a sofa, which was later found to have been slit. The youth was told he was barred from the pub. He waved a sliver of glass
at the landlord and said: “I’m not afraid of you, I can kill”, said Inspector
Breed. He was chased along the Leas by a police
officer. When the officer caught up with the boy, he had abuse shouted at him
and he was pushed away, Inspector Breed told the court. He caught up with the
youth a second time and received more obscenities and was assaulted again.
The youth admitted criminal damage, failing to
leave the pub when asked, using threatening and abusive behaviour and
assaulting a police officer. But he had
drunk so much, he could not recall much about the incidents, said solicitor Sue
Watler. It was the day before Christmas Eve and he had
been drinking lager all afternoon at his works’ party. Then the youth had gone
to a friend’s home and had more to drink, said Mrs Watler. He had
gone to the pub to meet his girlfriend. Then he got into the fight with the
other youngsters. “He had really had far too much to drink and was not in
control of his actions”, said Mrs. Watler.
The youth was fined £235 and ordered to pay £10 costs.
Folkestone Herald
11-3-1988
Local News
A keen eye and strong arm were needed during a 24-hour darts marathon in aid of leukaemia research. The seven
sponsored darts players threw their arrows non-stop from 1.30 p.m. on Sunday to
1.30 p.m. on Monday in the Happy Frenchman, Folkestone. The event
was organised by licensees Ron and Janice Paton, and was one of several they’ve
arranged to raise money for London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital. Raising
cash for the hospital is Ron and Janice’s way of thanking doctors for helping
Ron’s nine-year-old daughter Nicki beat the disease last year. Ron
estimates Sunday’s event will raise more than £1,500 and wants to thank those
that took including sponsors Elite Building Services, Henlys and B.J.
Scaffolders.
Folkestone Herald
18-3-1988
Local News
A man has denied possessing an offensive weapon in the Happy Frenchman
in Christchurch Road, Folkestone, on New Year’s Day. Kevin
Chandler, 34, from Alexander Street, also pleaded Not Guilty to assaulting
Raymond Heynen on the same day. The alleged weapon was a wooden bat. The case
was adjourned until April 5. Chandler was remanded on unconditional bail.
Folkestone Herald
29-11-1991
Advertising Feature
The Happy Frenchman pub in Folkestone`s Christchurch Road
is being totally transformed. Regulars will not recognise their old haunt when
the extensive refurbishment of the building is completed next month.
The new pub will be renamed The West End and will feature
a stylish upstairs bar, a fabulous disco room, a dazzling array of new lights
and a top quality restaurant.
Licensee Ron Paton, who has been at the Happy Frenchman
for five years, said the exciting new place-to-be was due to open on November
4. He added “There will be about 150 lights and no windows downstairs. The
effect will be incredible”.
The new gallery bar has been created by raising the roof
and it should provide a wonderful extra dimension to The West End. The
downstairs bar will be decorated in a low-key way to make the most of the
fabulous new lights. The town`s fashionable young people are certain to make
the new pub a key part of their Friday and Saturday nights and it will
certainly bring a touch of glamour to Folkestone`s town centre.
The Happy Frenchman was always a lively place to go but
The West End is sure to be even more popular – two floors of fun. A large range
of delicious food will be available there in the evening for the first time so
pub-goers will not have to leave in search of a bite to eat. Previously the
restaurant had only served customers during the day.
Mr. Paton and his wife Janice want to make The West End
one of the liveliest pubs in Shepway, and they are making sure everything is
top quality before the grand opening next month. Builders are working flat-out
ready for the big day, which will be an occasion not to be missed. All the
discerning socialites of Shepway are sure to be there.
Folkestone Herald
12-8-1993
Local News
In a last-ditch attempt to keep a town centre pub open
the landlady is putting on live music. Lynne Weddell has run the West End pub –
once the Happy Frenchman – at Christchurch Road, Folkestone, since May this
year. But she thinks changes made before she came may still be keeping people
away. She said “The previous people turned it into a night club. They
breeze-blocked up and blacked all the windows and only opened in the evening. But
people said it was dark and dingy. Before that, when it was the Happy
Frenchman, it used to be an ordinary pub. We would like to get it back to what
it was”. Now bar snacks are on sale again and the windows let in light. First
band to perform, on August 14, will be Dover rock group Die Laughing. Mrs.
Weddell said “I`ve thought of putting a sign outside “Customers required. No
experience necessary.”, but I hope the music and making the place a proper pub
again will do the trick”.
Note: It reverted to being the
Happy Frenchman on 17th September.
Folkestone Herald 2-2-1995
Local News
Plans to extend pub opening hours on Sundays have failed
to cheer local landlords. “No thanks” was the reply from most Shepway publicans
asked about the controversial move.
Prime Minister John Major wants to scrap the law that forces
pubs to close between 3 and 7 p.m., leaving them free to open from noon until
10.30 p.m.
But many hard-working pub owners are already calling time
on the idea, saying their extra time off on Sundays was “sacrosanct”.
Tony Leeves, owner of the White Lion, in Cheriton High
Street, said “With most publicans Sunday afternoons are the only time they get
to sit down and have a normal lunch, with an extra hour to relax. My Sunday
afternoons are sacrosanct and I like being able to relax for an extra hour and enjoy
my Sunday roast and Yorkshire pudding”. Mr. Leeves already works from 8 a.m. to
11 p.m. every day except Sundays, and he says he will probably not open for the
extra hours. “If the business is to be had I`m all for going out and getting
it, but people only have so much money to spend”, he added. “If you divide that
amount by hours, it just means less money is spent per hour”.
Landlord James Hawkings said his regulars at The Happy
Frenchman, in Christ Church Road, Folkestone, thought little of the proposal.
“Most men come out for a drink at Sunday lunchtime, but have to get back to
their wives for their lunch afterwards”. He intends to stay shut between 3 and
7 p.m. and does not believe trade will suffer as a result. Pubs benefitting
from the longer hours would be those in the countryside selling meals, and
those on the seafront, he said.
A Home Office official said the Government hoped to
change the law by the end of the year. The proposals include letting
off-licences sell alcohol from 10 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.. And supermarkets could do
the same for six continuous hours on Sundays.
Folkestone Herald 18-1-1996
Maidstone Crown Court
A man thrown out of a Folkestone pub for drunken
behaviour returned later armed with two knives and attacked the landlord.
Nicholas Cranney lashed out, cutting victim Barry Foster, who had to be taken
to hospital with wounds to his neck and armpit. Jailing Cranney, a 34-year-old
waiter, for four years, a judge told him “You caused injuries which, by chance
alone, did not result in death”.
Alan Kent, prosecuting, said Mr. Foster, manager of the
Happy Frenchman pub in Christchurch Road, Folkestone, knew Cranney to be a
nuisance when drunk, but not violent. On September 10 last year Cranney became
intoxicated and was singing and staggering around. When Mr. Foster asked him to
leave he took his glasses off, saying he would “row with anybody”. The landlord
took hold of Cranney`s wrists and, with help, escorted him outside. Cranney
shouted that he would get his mates and “do” Mr. Foster. Cranney went to his
bedsit and slept. But he continued to moan to a friend about unfair treatment
and, after sobering up, returned to the pub armed with a Stanley knife and a
kitchen knife. Mr. Foster told the bar staff not to serve him and ordered him
to leave. “The atmosphere became increasingly tense, with the defendant inviting
Mr. Foster to strike the first blow”, Mr. Kent told Maidstone Crown Court. “He
suddenly produced a knife from behind his back and attacked Mr. Foster by
lunging at his neck and hip. Attempts were made by the manager and bar staff to
disarm him by punching him”.
Cranney claimed the knives were to defend himself. He
admitted having a drink problem and described himself as being paranoid. “When
I start to get wound up, I just black out”, he said. “I just went mad”. He
accepted he was likely to cause “bad damage” with the knife, saying the neck
was the most vulnerable area.
Martin Joy, defending, said Cranney had a pleasant
disposition and was charming and polite, but he was a binge drinker who lost
control. “He bitterly regrets this offence”, said Mr. Joy.
Passing sentence, Judge Michael Neligan said the offence
was aggravated by Cranney returning to the pub having armed himself. “I give
credit for the Guilty pleas, and reduce the sentence I would have passed to
four years”, he added.
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