Can you name any of the Tarpots staff?
Ernie Rogers lived in Church Road, until he joined the army as a young man of 17 years. His mother worked as a barmaid at the Tarpot Public House throughout his childhood, as a result his mother knew lots of people in Benfleet. Ernie recalls his mother telling him that his grandfather, Ben Rogers used to shoot rabbits from a seat outside the Tarpot Pub, this is thought to have been in the 1930’s .
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Please could anyone tell me why the pub was called Tarpots, I know it had a pot outside which it still has but would like to know some information, trying to tell my Brownie group some local history.
Ed: A quick look on the internet found the following.
Tarpot Hotel or Tarpots local history states that on an early surviving Benfleet Manor Roll (1405) the farm it was built on it was known as Tarpody or Tarpottes, said to be so named from the distillation of wood around the area for Tar and Pitch used on boats, and wooden buildings.
Hope this is of some help to you, please let us know if you need any further help on local history.
My Great Great Grandmother Jane Thorn lived on Little Tarpots farm with her mother Sarah (farmer) and family as shown on the 1841 census, any info on these would be great, or any info if this farm still exists etc would be great. Jane was born in Thundersley c1827. I have come to a standstill on the family tree so any help would be great. All the best and hoping this finds you all in good health in these hard times, Dave
Does anyone know how the Tarpot pub got its name please?
I sent some information on Tarpots Pub staff. Something I need to mention is, photo says maybe taken around 1944, that is incorrect as Bobby Brereton was about 12 or 13 in that photo. Him being the same age as me I would put the year at 1952.
The comment I made about Tarpots party was meant for the staff photo. The Wright family were the licensees at that time they had a son, Gordon who was in my 1st year class at Benfleet Secondary School. My father and his two friends used to drink at the Tarpots every Saturday night. One of his friends was Paddy Burns or Byrnes, he was the caretaker of the Catholic Church over the road from there, he lived at the top end of Kents Hill Road near London Road.
Hope this helps a little, its only when reading other people’s stories that memories come back. Happy Healthy New Year to you all from Australia.
In the photo of Tarpots Pub staff, the young boy in the photo is Bobby Brereton, he was in my class at Benfleet Primary School. His mother, Bertha, was a cleaner at the pub. She is pictured third left, next to a man. They lived on the High Road, just before Cemetery Corner. Bertha was a great supporter of Benfleet United football team. I remember her well, she was a very nice lady.
The picture of the Tarpots staff include my two uncles, George Ferguson, 2nd left top row, Alec 3rd left top row, and their father and my grandfather James Ferguson, 2nd right middle row.
That’s my Uncle Joe!!! Wow!
Does anyone know who the man 3rd from left in the middle row of the staff at the pub is? My uncle Joe is on the back row and I have a feeling the one in the middle may be my grandad – I have only ever seen 1 photo of him but he looks familiar. Joe Gates is top row in the middle and Alec Ferguson top row on the left.
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