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This pub, on the corner of Church Street and the High Street, was very popular with villagers until it closed and became a private house in the late 1990s. The building dates from 1881 and is on the site of the old village workhouse, which had shut half a century earlier. The first landlord was Edward Webb and along with other village pubs the Royal Oak ran a “slate club” – an informal benefit society for working people. Contributions might be a shilling or less per week and there was usually a payout celebration at Christmas.
Postcard, postmarked 1965
In the mid-20th century, Mavis and John Skelton were very active in support of the village and the pub was the venue for many meetings and social gatherings. Not to be outdone by the numerous other small shops in the vicinity, it made and sold its own ice-cream. It was a mustering point for the village band, was the favoured bar of the Shoreham Village Players and the place where the R.O.G.U.E.S. golfing society was founded.
Standing by the junction with Church Street and looking north down the High Street, the Royal Oak can be seen on the right. Postcard c1915.
Before the Second World War, shopkeeper George Bell ran the Central Mart across the road at No. 1 High Street. Bell was plagued by gout and was often to be seen with his foot up on a chair outside the shop. When he took to his bed, the Royal Oak supplied him with drink which, it was said, he would haul up the side of his house in a bucket.
Text by James Saynor.
