‘An example of beutiful Victorian architecture’: The Kenley Hotel, closed for almost a year, has left locals fearing for its fate and missing the heart of their community
Grand Victorian pub that served RAF heroes during the Battle of Britain and which has a bar reputedly made for the doomed Titanic, is under threat of being sold off, possibly for redevelopment. But not if the residents’ association get their way
When Jason Perry waddles into Fisher’s Folly tomorrow morning for his first day at work in his second term of office, he ought to ensure that one matter in his in-tray gets attended to straight away: saving the Kenley Hotel.
The 19th Century building on Godstone Road is “a beautiful example of Victorian architecture”, according to locals. The pub closed, “temporarily”, in July last year, another signal of the decline of the borough under Mayor Perry, with businesses closing, and not just in the town centre.
The Croydon branch of CAMRA suggests, with a touch of scepticism, that the pub’s bar was made for the Titanic, but never installed. They report that the Kenley Hotel is “closed until a new licensee can be found”, but also that the freehold was put up for sale last October.
KENDRA, the Kenley and District Residents’ Association, is doing something to try to restore the landmark building, and keep the community hub at the heart of Kenley.
The residents’ campaign includes a public meeting on Tuesday evening, and a magnificent video made by local Ian Anderson, which makes the case very well.
KENDRA want the council to grant the Kenley Hotel Asset of Community Value status, which would give them first claim on any sale of the building.
Landmark: even the bus stop takes its name from the pub
ACV is a useful device for switched-on planning departments to work with community groups to maintain and restore heritage buildings and assets. But this is Croydon…
The council granted ACV status to The Glamorgan on Cherry Orchard Road, but allowed the status to expire, leaving locals in Addiscombe with a planning mess to try to fix themselves. And a developer who owns the site and has demanded an unrealistically high purchase price.
Kenley locals are obviously hopeful that they might avoid such an entanglement.
The ACV bid for the Kenley Hotel was submitted on May 1, backed with the powerful video, including heartfelt messages from several locals.
“Your contributions helped show exactly why this building deserves a future — and why the community is stepping up now,” KENDRA said when releasing the video.
“We’ll be holding a short 10‑minute update session on Tuesday May 12 at 7.30pm at Kenley Memorial Hall to show the reel and walk through exactly what was submitted to Croydon Council. And next steps,” KENDRA said, adding that the room at the Hall is small with limited capacity.
“This is just a quick update to keep the momentum going — a larger follow‑up session will run later in May for anyone who can’t get a space.”
KENDRA is seeking volunteers to help with the ACV group.
They say that volunteers will need to, “show up — attend meetings (in person or online) and stay involved”, and “be active — this is a working group, not an audience”.
“The ACV is step one. The real work is the bid and long‑term plan.”
Community-run pubs are a growing phenomenon, as pubcos and brewers are often exiting the pub business, cashing in their property assets. The beacon example of how a community-owned pub can grow and thrive is probably The Hope in Carshalton, named London’s Pub of the Year seven times since it became customer-owned in 2011.
For the Kenley Hotel, KENDRA asks for volunteers to “take a task — research, comms, admin, fundraising, planning… everyone contributes something”.
If you want to find out more about the Kenley Hotel campaign, email kenleyacv21@outlook.com.
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