A Brief History of The Wheatsheaf

Dotted around the walls of the pub are to  be found, as you would expect, a variety of lovely photographs dating from the  turn of the 20th century onwards, as well as a list of landlords since it was  first licensed in 1853. Also to be found is the result of some painstaking  research carried out by the 15th landlord, David Pace.

The Wheatsheaf is a rare unspoilt example of an early Victorian beer house. The building is probably 18th century, and  the tithe map of 1839 describes it as a homestead surrounded by arable land, an  orchard and wood, paying £2-1-10d per annum in tithe rent. It was at that time  occupied by a farmer, William Wood, and owned by Theo King. The lines of the  surrounding lanes were exactly as they are today.

The Wheatsheaf as we know it was now  complete in all it’s essentials, the bar was restricted to what is now the  lower saloon bar area, served through a simple hatch, with stairs up to a club  room. In 1880 the pub was acquired by Smith & Co, family brewers of  Lamberhurst established in 1833. Also at about this time the Crowborough brick  works were developed on adjoining land and three kilns were operated until  their demolition in the late 1970’s, making way for what is now the Farningham  Road Industrial Estate.

By 1893 Crowborough had a population of  2800, and the tenancy of The
Wheatsheaf was taken on by George Frampton. Though  his wife died in 1917 he stayed until 1933, by some way the longest serving  landlord, and likely to remain so. Smith and Co had in the meantime sold the  pub to the Kemp Town Brewery of Brighton, who were in turn acquired by  Charringtons after the Second World War, during which time the Wheatsheaf had  been taking paying guests, as can be seen in the framed guest book from those  years.

The Licensing Act of 1830 had freed beer  from licensing laws and duty.
In a single year, 30,000 ‘beer shops’ sprang up.  One such enterprising
individual taking advantage of the legislation was John  Knight, who lived with his wife Selina at Park Corner (as the bottom end of  Mount Pleasant was then called). Mr Knight opened a beer house to supplement  his income in 1853, and in so doing he became the first landlord of The  Wheatsheaf.

A few years later a small one up-one down  cottage was added to the side of what is now the main pub building. Local  legend has it that this cottage was in the way of what became the line of the  London, Brighton & South Coast Railway, which was driven through Jarvis  Brook in 1868, and so the cottage was moved out of the way up the hill. Whether  this cottage was in fact John Knight’s original beer house, we shall probably  never know.

It was only after Charringtons sold The  Wheatsheaf as a freehold that the license was upgraded from a beer house to  sell all intoxicating liquor in 1972. Other changes followed; hitherto private  accommodation and gardens were opened up to the public, and the current  familiar layout of three bars around a central servery was established. 

After 26 years as a freehold, The  Wheatsheaf was sold to Harveys Brewery by David Pace. Pete and Becky Randall became the 19th landlords in June 2011 and have continued, together with  Harveys brewery, to ensure that the best traditions of The Wheatsheaf and of  the great English pub are maintained throughout a programme of subtle change  and improvement both inside and out.