Westwood Manor House, Westwood (Star)

This free house is a bit of an enigma - the Georgian frontage shows its 18th century heritage, but precisely when it became a pub is unclear. Certainly the building is sited primely by ancient thoroughfares: Sloe Lane, Poor Hole Lane and Star Lane formed the junction of Roman trackways (Poor Hole Lane was reputedly a mass grave for the victims of the Black Death in 1348, and the fatalities from the Spanish Armada in 1588). By 1815 the Star functioned as the Cobb brewery's half-way house for horsedrawn traffic between Margate and Ramsgate. It offered accommodation, and a sizeable Tea/Beer garden for horse-brake visitors. In the last decade or so the pub has reinvented itself a few times and in 2016 saw a further reinvention with a new name (Grog Wench), new look and new owners. After a refit it reopened and with cask beer returned to the bar. Closed again in June 2017 after a change in licensee and reopened under a new name but closed again in November 2017.