History

The Dering Arms & Pluckley

The Dering Arms was originally an old hunting lodge, built in the 1840’s, for the Dering family around the same time as the railway line from London to the Kent coast. Sir Edward Dering, 1st Baronet (1598–1644) was an English antiquary and politician and a supporter of Charles I. As well as politics, Sir Edward had a passion for theatre and held one of the earliest published collections of Shakespeare’s dramas. Dering represented Kent in The Long Parliament and was MP for Hythe. He fought, briefly, for Charles I during the civil war and his son Edward, is the 10x great grandfather of Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall.

References to Pluckley can be found in the Domesday Book, at which time it was a more significant settlement than the now much larger town of Ashford, nearby. The village is approximately 5 miles from the M20 motorway and lies on the long distance walking route the Greensand Way and close to the Stour Valley Walk. Pluckley’s claim to fame is that it was the filming location for the ITV drama series, The Darling Buds of May, with the cast regularly coming to dine and dance at The Dering Arms after wrapping!

Pluckley is also known for its haunted status and has featured in the Guinness World Records book as the most haunted village in Britain, with many of the ghosts thought to be members of the Dering family! The Dering Arms itself holds mystery and intrigue as some say they have witnessed ghostly figures in the bar, including an old lady dressed in 19th century clothes.