Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-23
THE "BROCklEY JACK"
A Famous Historic Landmark Of London to
Disappear.
The Headquarters of the Gang Of
Blackheath Highwaymen In the
Eighteenth Century.
From Black and White.

Another old London landmark is about
to be swept away. This is the famous
Brockley Jack public house, which has
been enc Of the best-knowE places on the
Brockley road any time during this last
five hundred years. It Is believed to have
been erected about the reign of the third
Edward. and then and for many years
afterward 1t was the only house in the
neighborhood. At first it was a private
residence. but some time in the sixteenth
century 1t became a house of public en-
tertainment. and has continued so up to the
present time. 1t Is now the oldest licensed
mouse In the county of Kent, and there are
only one or two Of greater antiquity in
London itself. 1t was at the commence
ment OF the last century. however, that
the house achieved it's greatest notoriety.
AT that time Blackheath was infested by
a desperate gang of highwaymen, WHO
found a convenient headquarters at this
lonely roadside inn. They were a COM
mercially minded. businesslike gang, to
whom chfvalry and romance were utter
strangers. At that period the adjacent vii
iage OF Ladywell was noted for it's med
lc1nal springs, and many visitors journeyed
thither to drink the healing waters These
were. of course, principally wealthy peo-
pie, and they were in great request as VIC
inns FOR the bold knights of the road who
sailed forth from their well-known head
Quarters under the leadership of a notori-
Gus outlaw named Brockley Jack, whose
name has since been adopted as the sign
OF the mouse. This desperate gang disap-
peared before advancing civilization, and
a widely different custom has sprung I'D
at the old inn 1t became the objective of
southeast London's Monday morning walk,
and on high holidays it was always he
scene or merrymaking. An extremely old
print represents a Christmas revel outside
this house with rustics gamboling under
the old tree, beneath which the highway
men used to quaff their wine and play
AL fhn cold yNy1
their booty
1t Is even said that they used to toss
golden coins into the tree, and that when
the tree decayed half a tankard full Of
gold coins were collected by former
landlord from the interior Of the trunk
In his latter days the Brockley Jack has
lived down its evil reputation and entered
on period of honest prosperity A few
months ago the property was sold to a
f1rm OF brewers with an important reserva-
ton, and they are responsible for the re-
moval of the old place. The reservation
was the sign board, which the owners of
the house declined to part with at any
price. This sign board, which is fastened
on the old tree in front of the house. is
made out OF the ade-bone of a horse be-
lfeved to have been ridden by one of the
old highwaymen and this gruesome relic
will soon be all that is left of The old Brock
ley Jack. The house has been shored up
and added to, the original matched roof
removed and the whole of the buildings
rooted with red tiles: but even this new
covering belongs to an out-of-date age. In
side the house, however, evidences of an
tiquity abound The wooden walls, covered
on the outside with modern matchwood,
are plastered with a composition OF clay
and hay, and the woodwork Is so hard that
a nail can scarcely be driven into it. Curl
GUS dark and narrow passages run between
the rooms. and until few years ago, when
a modern staircase was introduced the up
per part Of the house was divided into two
parts, connected by drawbridge. which
could be raised, thus completely isolatins
the two parts. The height Of the rooms
clearly indicates that the house was built
for a smaller race of people than now ex-
lists. Most of the ceilings are less than six
feet from the ground, and in many of the
rooms all ordinary sized man Is unable to
stand upright. 1t is at present curious
mixture of ancient and modern. Bicycles.
with the latest improvements, are to be
seen leaning against the medieval timbers
of some of the sheds, and the smoke from
the railway engine passes over the decay
ing trees.