The Three Daws

The Three Daws, a Grade II listed building on the east side of the Town Pier square, is now the oldest public house in the town and probably the oldest pub in Kent with its mixture of timber framing, weatherboarding and tiled roof. The Three Daws and the Old Pilots' House to the rear (now demolished) are reported to have had seven staircases and three underground tunnels enabling sailors to escape the press gang and smugglers to ply their trade.

By some miracle, the Three Daws escaped the many fires, in spite of its wooden construction. Its earlier name was the Cornish Chough (1488 1707), and later the Three Cornish Choughs (1707 1778). In 1582, the innkeeper was Ralph Wellett. It seems to have been associated with pilgrims crossing the river on their way to the shrine of St. Thomas, the three Cornish Choughs appearing in the arms of Canterbury City. A reference to it as the Three Daws appears in the Gravesend Register of 1667.