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admin sinfulldude · Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 8:40 pm Post subject: The Ship Inn, Purfleet

(was written and posted by madmart former forum's ADMIN )

The Royal Hotel began life as The Ship Inn, built around 1769. The Ship Inn was very popular with the local sailors as it was situated just down the road from the docks. It remained known as the Ship Inn until 1828 under the tenancy of Frs. Beal, when its name changed to the Bricklayers Arms, due to the local brick factory being near by.

In 1848 it seems some remodelling took place and the hotel took shape and became known as the Wingrove Hotel, after the owner John George Wingrove.
The hotels popularity grew and it was not long before it was a fashionable location for the London gentry to been seen at.

What happens next is open to debate. Around the 1860's, the hotel changed its name to The Royal Hotel. This is said to be due to when the Prince of Wales visited the hotel.

I believe that this may of taken place. The hotel had become a hot spot to be seen in and had also built a reputation of card games and betting on bare-knuckle fighting, at not to be forgotten; a high-class brothel.
If we look at the life of the Prince of Wales at this time the links look clearer.
Queen Victoria had denied Edward any official government roll. Almost as a protest Edward flung himsef into the arms of as many women as he could get hold of, he also became an immense gambler, he also loved drinking and sport and spent most of his time travelling. This continued even after his marriage.

Edward ( as King)

This side of Edward seemed to certainly fit in with the scene of the hotel at that time.

Purfleet has played a part in some awful events and all of them took place in sight of the hotel.

In 1875 Gunner Richard Coates of the Royal Artillery who was stationed at the barrocks in Purfleet, travelled a mile up the road to Aveley school. Here he tried to rape Alice Boughen, when she tried to resist him he beat her to death in a cupboard. Richard Coates then carried her body back to Purfleet where he tried to dispose of her body in the river but was seen doing so and was arrested. Gunner Richard Coates was executed on the 29th March 1875.

The Cornwall

In 1859 the training ship 'Cornwall' moored off of Purfleet. The idea of the training ship was for boys who fell foul of the law to be sent to and here they would be 're-trained' and sent back into the community or to go into the army.
But in 1903 things started to go wrong, a consignment of bedding was sent to the ship for the boys. The blankets had originally come from the army store at Cape Town at the end of the Boer War.
Soon seven boys become very ill with Typhoid and after weeks of trying to track down what was causing this sickness it was found that the bedding should have never been shipped, in fact the bedding was contaminated with blood from the Boer War and never been washed, the bedding should have been burned but instead it was sold off cheap as a job lot. By now quite a few of the other boys on the ship

were sick to, and after the press got hold of the story the government were forced to move the sick boys to hospitals in the area. It is said that none of the boys died …do you believe them?

The true on-goings of the hotel have never been recorded but if you believe half of the local rumours then the hotel surely had a colourful past.

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(ADMIN) madmart
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