The Little Gem, Aylesford

I have to respond to a couple of very negative posts here. The Gem is [was] our local - we live almost opposite and it has always been the heart and soul of our village. The owners were Punch Taverns back in the day and they had wanted shot of it for some years before its final demise. During those years, there was some amazing landlords and landladies in there who most certainly knew their way round the beer cellar, cleaning out the pipes brilliantly et al and there was never ever a health & safety issue there. The pub is not built for food - the kitchen is tiny - and the really great landlords never attempted anything other than a snack, which was always great. The range of beers was good and the atmosphere in that place was always top notch. It was on the Morris Dancers circuit and throughout the summer it was just wonderful. I had my wedding reception there - yes really - and it was phenomenal.

However, in 2009, the choice of landlords started to decline and by 2010 a very poor choice was in there - the people spoken about here by some unfortunates who happened upon them . They brought with them 2 very large dogs who then went and had 5 puppies - yes ALL in the Gem. The place stank. THAT is why gavioli reports of such a poor service and yes, no-one in the village liked what had become of the place and everyone went to the chequers and the bush instead. The landlady was rude to the locals and the pub was avoided as a consequence.The place became empty, it lost its licence and eventually it was sold. So sad.

The present owner owns adjoining property and we all thought he would knock through and turn it in flats. But that was not the case and he put it back up for sale pretty quickly - within weeks. It has remained for sale ever since. It must be getting on for 2 years now. The oustide of the building is rotting, the roof is looking pretty bad, and all of us in the village are so saddened at the 'death' of what was once our best friend. This is a listed building, the oldest building in Aylesford and stucturally incredibly important. Its main joist is a king pin and the bar is made from an old local ship. None of us want to see it fall down. No-one knows what is going to happen with it, every now and then we see someone looking at it and hope they will buy it and rescue it. However so far, no good and it remains locked up.

Hope that sets the record straight - and it really WAS a Little Gem. Trust me on that one.

27 May 2012 20:40