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The New Inn replaced the first Alphington post office in 1872, a year after the Church House fire, very likely as some sort of re-development of those buildings at the Village centre.
At the turn of the C19th and before, the New Inn was Alphington's 'cider house', inhabited by those who could not generally afford beer or preferred to drink cider.  The New Inn itself used to be sited right on Ide Lane corner, where the end of Lockfield Court now stands. This original building was demolished in 1967 and the pub moved next door into a house that stood back off the road and would appear by the look of it, to have been built around 1930. The house was extended back towards the corner to form the bar areas. Inside the pub are a number of old photographs showing all of this.  In January 1917, Charles Cole died. He had been the landlord of the New Inn. He was a well known bell ringer and was also sexton for 50 years. Members of his family had held the post for over 200 years (source 1953). J.W Coles' notes have provided a vital source of information for this website. Stuart Callon Copyright ©2002 |