23 Commonside East, Mitcham, Surrey CR4 2QA
Current building dates from 1928, see the minutes of the Mitcham Urban District council:
Volume XIV May 1928 to April 1929
Highways and Buildings Committee
12th June 1928
Page 125
Building application no. 1202 from Style and Winch Ltd. for rebuilding the “Three Kings Inn” was approved, subject to the Surveyor’s requirements.
Maidstone based brewer Style and Winch were taken over by Barclay Perkins a year later in 1929 which then merged with Courage in 1956. Source Kent History Forum.
pre 1918 clip shows brewer ‘Style & Winch’ and licensee ‘Edwin Newman’ – from Merton Memories photo 51117 copyright London Borough of Merton
1869 Three Kings showing brewer ‘Attlee’ – clip from Merton Memories photo 33171 copyright London Borough of Merton
undated clip showing brewer ‘Attlee’ – clip from Merton Memories photo 51090 copyright London Borough of Merton
Tooting based brewer Attlee had been taken over by Style & Winch in 1907.
From the Tithe Apportionment Map of 1846, the occupier of the land owned by Walter Haynes was William Hughes. The land measured 1 rood and 2 square perches.
In the annual review of licenses in 1847, Mr Hancock was said to have been in occupation for 30 years. Which puts him as landlord since 1817.
Landlords from Street Directories
1839 : Joshua HANCOCK
1851 : James RILEY
1855 : James ROSIER
1866 : Thomas TAYLOR
1874 : Alfred MITCHELL
1880 : Burnett PARFIT
1891 : Mary Maria NORMAN
1896 : Tom B. STONER
1898 : W.H. SHARP
1904 : William HUNT
1911 : Edwin NEWMAN
1915 : Edwin NEWMAN
1918 : George Frederick HAWKES
1925 : William N. GOVETT
Landlords from commercial directories
1930 : Mrs Harriett GOVETT
1938 : Frank Ernest PENNEY
In the Croydon Guardian and Surrey County Gazette of Saturday 27th August 1910 (subscription required), it was stated that Edwin Newman had been licensee since 1907.
Note that William Nelson GOVETT had performed under the stage name of POLUSKI with his brother Sam Govett, as The Poluski Brothers. His widow died in 1932 as Mrs Poluski.
The pub building was a Chinese restaurant until 1997, when planning permission (13/P1997) was approved for a change of use to offices. In 2009 the upper floors were converted into 4 x 1-bed self contained flats. To the rear of the property, a redevelopment scheme was built containing two terraces of six 3-bed houses, and a block of 4 flats (2 x 1-bed and 2 x 2-bed) with associated parking and landscaping.
Minutes of meetings held by the Mitcham Urban District Council are available on request from the Merton Heritage and Local Studies Centre at Morden Library.
Mitcham History Notes 