South Kent Gazette
1-7-1981
Local News
Two hundred pounds worth of damage was caused when a
stone was thrown through a window at the Royal Standard public house in
Canterbury Road, Folkestone, on Friday night.
The following night burglars broke into another
Folkestone pub, the Royal George in Beach Street. They escaped with £150 and
some cigarettes.
South Kent Gazette
17-2-1982
Annual Licensing Sessions
Publicans` applications for transfer agreed by the Bench
include: The Black Bull, Folkestone (music and dancing); Bouverie Arms,
Folkestone; Honest Lawyer, Folkestone; Old Harbour Crab and Oyster House
(extension to cover restaurant area); Royal George, Folkestone. Approval of
plans to alter Folkestone`s Pullman Wine Bar was given.
Folkestone Herald
9-12-1983
Local News
An application for planning permission to turn the empty Royal George
pub at Beach Street, Folkestone, into a restaurant has been made by Mr. Jimmy Godden,
owner of the Rotunda amusement complex. Representations should be made to Shepway District Council by December
16.
Folkestone Herald
6-1-1984
Local News
Amusement boss Jimmy Godden is planning to
bring a derelict pub back to life as a restaurant. Mr. Godden, owner of The
Rotunda, Marine Parade, Folkestone is seeking planning permission to do up the
Royal George pub at Beach Street. He
has put in a planning application to Shepway District Council for the
refurbishment of the building to form a restaurant with staff rooms and toilets
on the ground floor. The pub has stood empty for a number of years and is up
for sale along with the former Ark Cafe and other land in Beach Street.
Folkestone Herald
13-1-1984
Local News
Speculator and amusement boss Jimmy Godden is having talks with Shepway
District Council over the future of the Ark cafe on Folkestone’s seafront. Mr.
Godden, owner of the Rotunda amusement complex in Marine Parade, is already
seeking permission to do up the old Royal George pub in Beach Street and hopes
to open it as a restaurant, to be in operation by Easter. Mr. Godden
refused to reveal what his plans were for the nearby Ark cafe site, other than
saying it was likely that plans would be before the council by May. Asked if licensed
premises were envisaged for the site, all he would say was that any development
would be multi-purpose. “I always like to find out what I am allowed to do, and
then go ahead and see if I can do it. I haven`t decided yet what to do with the
site. This will be a matter for discussion with the council”.
The old Ark cafe was the subject of some local debate in the '70s when
it earned the nickname The Grotty Cafe. Despite the general condemnation of
the state of the building from councillors, the building, painted in an
uninviting shade of Admiralty grey, still had its loyal fans. As the debate
raged in council chambers, one customer wrote to the Herald to say he and
scores of others who used the Ark regularly were extremely upset about its
closure. The food was excellent, he said, the service area clean and tidy, and
the atmosphere was happy and relaxed.
Photo from Folkestone Herald
Folkestone Herald
20-1-1984
Local News
Plans by amusement arcade boss Jimmy Godden to transform the derelict Royal George
pub at Folkestone harbour into a restaurant were given the green light last
week. Mr. Godden, who owns the Rotunda, Marine Parade, Folkestone, is doing up
the single-storey building at Beach Street, to provide a kitchen, servery,
restaurant area and toilets on the ground floor. There will be seating
facilities on the first floor.
Shepway
District Council has been looking at development plans for the whole of the
Beach Street area, including the former Ark cafe and surrounding land, which
Mr. Godden owns. The arcade boss has said further proposals are to be made to
develop the Ark, but he wants to get the Royal George sorted out first. Work
has already started to do up the old pub, which has stood empty for a number of
years. Members of Shepway`s Plans Sub-Committee passed an application for the
changes at a meeting last Tuesday.
Folkestone Herald
8-8-1986
Advertising Feature
A room with a view
is to be one of the welcome attractions for drinkers in Folkestone.
A new bar above The Old Royal George
Restaurant gives a panoramic view of Folkestone harbour. It will be named the
Skylight Bar, which refers to the breezy attic surroundings in which it is
situated. Husband and wife owners Danny and Tina Jordan
have been running the restaurant since last September. They felt that the attic
was going to waste and converted it into a pleasant drinking place which will
open officially this Saturday. A light
buffet and punch will welcome the first customers across the
threshold. The bar will have an intimate atmosphere with
subdued lighting, relaxing armchairs and bows and blinds
adorning the windows. Bar meals
will be an added attraction, with a tasty varied menu composed of chicken
in a basket, sea foods, salads and
fresh sandwiches. As well as the normal
bar service„ drinkers and light diners will have a waitress service if they eat on the patio
outside the restaurant. So on those cool summer days, a meal or snack outdoors will be just the tonic! Drinkers' taste buds are well catered for as the new bar is a free
house, with a wide range of beers, lagers and spirits. The Skylight Bar and Old George Restaurant are a boon for motorists as
they offer easy road access and car parking facilities are opposite. Shoppers, tourists and young trendies will all find themselves at ease in these
plush yet discreet surroundings. Its opening will bring a breath of fresh air
to Folkestone’s sea front.
Folkestone Herald
11-9-1992
Local News
Pubs are shutting down tomorrow (Saturday) for fear of
violence after an Anti-Nazi demo. Campaigners say they will demonstrate at
Folkestone Central railway station against an expected rally there by Nazi
skinheads. And some publicans, particularly in the Harbour area, are taking no
chances with their property and staff.
The assistant manager of the Royal George in Beach
Street, who did not want to be named, said “We could be in a prime area for
trouble and we are shutting all day. It is not worth staying open, even if only
a few hundred pounds worth of damage is caused”.
Landlady Sue Welch said her pub, the London and Paris in
Harbour Street, would certainly close during the day and possibly in the
evening. She said “The place could get wrecked. We can`t risk that”. Her son,
barman Alan, 19, said “There could be real danger. This is the area where there
is most likely to be trouble because Fascists from Europe may travel here by
Seacat”.
Some pubs and bars, such as Jolson`s in Tontine Street,
are definitely staying open. A member of staff, who did not want to be named,
said “We didn`t close when the bombs and shells came down during the war. Why
should we close now for a bunch of skinhead idiots?”
Other pubs are taking advice from the police and may make
their decisions tomorrow morning.
A spokesman at the Park Inn, next to Folkestone Central
Station, said “A lot of people are frightened by this. I know of some people
who say they won`t go into work at the town centre tomorrow. But we don`t know
if we will shut because we are not certain the rally will go ahead”.
Last Saturday anti-fascist activists leafleted the town
asking people to attend the demonstration. Anti-Nazi League member Kelvin
Williams told the Herald 4,000 flyers were handed out and 500 names taken on a
petition. He said “I`ve done a few of these in my time and I have never known
such a favourable response. My guess is there will be 400 people turning up”.
Last week a spokesman for the far-right Blood and Honour
organisation, which had hoped to stage a concert in Folkestone, said nothing
was now planned.
But Mr. Williams countered this week; “Our information is
that they will be mobilising in London to come down here”.
Jon Steel, a spokesman for Kent Police, said “People
ought not to be panicking because if there is any disturbance it will be
quashed very quickly. We will have whatever resources are necessary to deal
with whatever happens”.
 | ||
| Photo from Folkestone Herald |
Folkestone Herald 29-7-1999
Local News
The landlady of the Royal
George pub in Folkestone harbour is concerned that a recent Eco Day in the High
Street has portrayed her premises in a bad light. In an exhibit featuring the
“blackspots” of Folkestone, environmental group Friends of the Earth showed a
picture of wasteland next to the pub, highlighting the problem in an effort to
clean up the town.
However, according to
Sharon Collins, who co-owns the pub with her partner Gary Moffatt, the poster
was misleading and gave the impression that the wasteland belonged to the Royal
George, when in fact it didn`t. “We have a well-tended terrace outside on our
property, but the wasteland is nothing to do with us. People have got the
impression that it is our land and that we are responsible for the mess.
Friends of the Earth are quite right to list the wasteland as a blackspot. We
have been campaigning for years to get the area cleaned up”.
Efforts are being made in
other quarters to tackle the problem. Phillippe Esclasse, the town centre
manager, said “We realise that this is an area of concern. The issue is
complicated as the land is privately owned. However, we have contacted the
property owner and hope to see positive developments”.
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