Tumble Down Dick Hotel, Farnborough

As far as we know there has been an inn on the site of what is now the Tumble Down Dick, 227 Farnborough Road, since around Tudor times. The first licence to serve alcohol or as a hotel was issued in around 1661. The first sign of a public house on any map dates back to 1772 when only St Peter’s Church, dating back to Norman times, and the coaching inn were visible on what was once open heathland. Farnborough was a good stopping point as it was half way between London and the south coast. There is even a milestone across the road from the pub, just outside the Milestone Surgery. Initially the pub was thought to have been called the Prince of Orange but later had its name changed to The Duke of Cumberland. The name The Tumble Down Dick has a number of potential origins: One rumour is that it is named after Dick Turpin. Another possible name is from the highwayman Richard “Galloping Dick” Ferguson (17??-1800) who met his eventual accomplice Jerry Avershaw at the Tumbledown. Local man Dick Thrupples apparently fell off a stool at the inn. Oliver Cromwell’s third and youngest son, Richard (4 October 1626 – 12 July 1712), became Lord Protector of England on the 3rd September 1658 but lasted only a few months until April or May of 1659 when parliament was dissolved and Cromwell was allowed to “fade away” from his position as the country’s premiere. Ever since known as “Tumbledown Dick” this is the man after whom the pub is most likely named. The current red brick Tumble Down Dick building mainly dates back to 1812 and there have been numerous modifications and additions to the pub over the years including an interior toilet (oh, the luxury) commissioned by the then owners Simonds Brewery (Reading) in 1915 for war-wounded local servicemen who were “inconvenienced” by the old outdoor facilities. (source Friends of the Tumbledown Dick Website)