The Old Chestnut pub, known for most of its life as The Station Hotel, is a classic Victorian railway pub whose layout has remained largely unaltered since it was built. It opened in the 1860s to serve the growing community of Earlswood. Its early customers included local quarrymen, brickmakers and employees of the nearby Earlswood Asylum. Once the railway station opened in June 1867 it undoubtedly had a steady flow of customers.
In the census of 1871, a John J Kearnes, aged 23, was the licensed victualler there, living with his wife and two brothers, but he was soon followed by William Henry Harrap in 1878 and Joseph Dyer in 1881. When Joseph died in September 1884, a William Pook of the Earlswood Idiot Asylum was one of the executors of his estate, perhaps reflecting a close relationship between the pub and the area’s main employer.
It was common at this time for inquests to be held in pubs and on 5 November 1887, The Surrey Mirror carried the report of one held at the Station Hotel. A 61-year-old railway worker named Alfred Hawkins had died in a tragic accident at Earlswood station the previous week when he was run over by three wagons on the track. Alfred was a local man who had been born in Nutfield, moving to Earlswood where he married.
At the time of his death, he was living with his wife and three children in Grove Cottage, Mill Street, (since demolished). He had been employed for thirteen years as a platelayer, responsible for laying and maintaining the tracks, sleepers, and ballast.
‘The fact that a platelayer was on the line would not be considered an obstruction as he would look after himself.’
A platelayer’s job was particularly hazardous as these workers spent their working day on or immediately beside the railway track, jumping out of the way when a train approached. They regularly inspected sections of line for wear, tightened bolts, replaced damaged rails, and cleared trackside vegetation to ensure trains could run safely.
Various accounts were given of the day of the incident and questions were asked about whether workers had been communicating properly and about whether Alfred had been instructed to do the work he was engaged in at the time of his death. No one was willing to accept that they had a part in his fate and it was argued that it had been his own responsibility to look out for trains.
The jury reached a verdict of ‘Accidental Death’ and added their opinion that no one was to blame but the deceased. However, they perhaps felt some level of discomfort with their conclusion as they gave their fee to the cottage hospital. Alfred was buried at St John’s Churchyard.
In 1911, Oliver Willmott was the licensed victualler and during his tenancy there was a successful ‘Slate Club’ at the pub with around 30 members. A slate club was an informal savings scheme common throughout the country in the 19th and 20th centuries. Members contributed weekly to a common fund and the pooled money was used to help working-class families in hard times. In December 1912 the Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser reported a successful year for the club. It had raised over £42 and paid out £5 and 16 shillings in sick benefits.
By the 1980s the pub was a popular venue for charity events. In July 1986, the Surrey Mirror reported that there was a charity week which raised £2,000 for local charities. Activities included the publican having his hair, beard, moustache and eyebrows shaved. There was also a yard of ale drinking competition against the Half Moon at Charlwood and a 24-hour pool marathon. The chairman of the organising committee was local author, Nigel Dunne, who wrote The Redhill Story and Arthur: Story of Gunner Arthur King.
The 1990s was a difficult period for the pub and in January 1997, the Surrey Mirror described a narrow escape when the Police went to court over breaches of its licence conditions. They failed to ‘call time on a problem-plagued pub,’ as the Surrey Mirror put it, as local magistrates decided the breaches of its licence were not serious enough to warrant revoking its licence. This was at a time when the local community was changing, with the Royal Earlswood Hospital closing down. For over a hundred years many residents of Earlswood had either worked there personally or had a family member who did. Now many were ending their careers or looking for a new job.
A pub like the Old Chestnut is trying hard to improve itself on a small budget
Brewery spokesman
By 1999, the licensees had started to improve the reputation of the pub by winning a national competition held by Carlsberg-Tetley to secure a total redesign of its garden. Charlie Dimmock of the BBC’s Ground Force visited the pub to open the garden which helped it become a family orientated business.
The history of the Old Chestnut reflects the changing fortunes of Earlswood itself. When it opened, the railway was transforming a rural area into a growing suburb, and the pub provided a meeting place for railway workers, brickmakers, hospital employees and local residents. Its customers and activities changed over the following century and it went through difficult times, but its role as a place where people met, socialised and raised money for good causes has remained remarkably constant.
Surrey Mirror, 29 October 1887 and 5 November 1887
Surrey Mirror 24 June 1999.
Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser, 28 December 1912