Salutation, Dartford

The Salutation was located at a crossroads just outside the town centre. It had been rebuilt in 1940 about 150 yards west of the original Salutation (just visible in the oldest photograph), which stood halfway along Heath Street and was later occupied by Stanford's the butchers until its demolition in 1975.

It had commenced trading by 1869 and was part of the tied estate of Dartford brewers C N Kidd & Son Ltd in the early 20th century. It later came into the hands of giant combine Courage via a succession of takeovers, and if that wasn't confusing enough for the locals, in around 1980 it passed to Ind Coope under a 'pub swap' deal.

The pub was very popular during the mid-to-late 20th century under the stewardship of long-serving landlord Bill Bliss, but after his departure trade began to shrink and sadly the pub closed in 1997. It was converted to office/residential accommodation shortly afterwards. Most would see the converted building as aesthetically challenging!