Make History Today

The Waterloo, Wellington Street, Gravesend

I was reading about the history of The Waterloo pub when it occurred to me - this being census day - the first record of many pubs is when they show on a census.

That is the case with The Waterloo. A pub is recorded on this site in the 1851 census, but it wasn’t The Waterloo, or even the Waterloo Tavern as this pub was known, but the Brewers Arms. The publican at that time was William Brown. Mr Brown didn’t stay very long, being replaced by John Patrick Ferguson two years later and two years after that, in 1855, by George Barnes.

In the next census, in 1861, George was shown as being married to Rosa Barnes. George was 42 and Rosa 36, they had ten children; seven girls and three boys, ranging from 17 years to two weeks - excellent timing on the part of the census.

The Prince Albert, Wrotham Road

The name changed to the Waterloo Tavern and then The Waterloo. Whether the current building is the same one the Barnes’ lived with their ten children isn’t known. 

Fill in your census if you haven’t already. You’re making history, and when pubs reopen, pop to your local and buy a pint. We’ll miss them when they’re gone.

The Canal Tavern, Canal Road, Gravesend