The Three Tuns, Faversham

As ETA says below, this was Shepherd Neame's first pub. On a cold and snowy Wednesday night, we were made welcome by who I took to be the landlord and landlady. This is a corner pub found in the middle of a residential area. It has two rooms on different levels. Only the upper room was lit and open for our visit. The lower one was in darkness. The upper bar area is mostly carpeted with a dartboard taking most of the space in the room. There was a TV in another corner and a jukebox was playing music at quite a loud volume. At the other end of the room was a large unlit fireplace. They only appear to open on evenings. So, it's probably not worth them lighting it, but it could have done with something to take the chill off the place. The bar itself has three handpulls. All were clipped with Master Brew. Theakston Mild was the pick of the keg options. On the bar back, there were a few rugby balls, mention for Arsenal and West Ham United football teams and a few Shepherd Neame jugs. The landlord however was a Manchester City fan from Stockport. Not long before we set off into the snow, he let us choose some tracks to put on the jukebox, which I thought was a nice touch. This is a very basic pub which really doesn't look like it can continue to sustain its existence. However, I felt quite welcome here with the proprietors taking a genuine interest in us. It's a shame there weren't more locals around to appreciate it.

Shepherd and Neame's oldest remaining pub, one of the first 2 bought by the Brewery along with The Castle, which was closed quite a while ago. The pub dates from 1605 and has retained much of its architectural interest. The two original bars have been knocked through to form a single public bar with structural timbers on display and an impressive large brick fireplace and chimney breast at one end. There are steps either side of the chimney leading down to a games room with a pool table. There is a dartboard in the public bar. At the rear is a large enclosed lawned garden which catches the Sun all day. The landlady was very pleasant, making a point of coming to say hello and chatting about the pub, and Faversham in general. There were 2 handpumps on the bar, both with Masterbrew, which was in excellent condition. The garden makes this a good choice for Summer drinking, and it's a very good candidate for a town crawl.

Shepherd Neame pub, with a small rectangular bar up a few steps at the front of the building. Also has a lower room and pool table behind the fireplace. Beer garden with petanque. Just Master Brew (£3.10) available from the three handpumps. Perhaps I caught it on a bad day, but I would say that it was worryingly quiet on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon.

Three Tuns page at the Shepherd Neame site - www.shepherdneame.co.uk

Three Tuns page at the Shepherd Neame site - www.shepherdneame.co.uk