Gravesend’s Lost Pubs: The Railway Tavern

The Railway Tavern, 1a Railway Place, Gravesend.
The Railway Tavern, 1a Railway Place, Gravesend. Photograph, January 2019.

The Railway Tavern

The Railway Tavern, Gravesend, originally opened in 1853 (some sources suggest 1881) and followed shortly after the opening of the railway station in 1849. The pub was originally tied to the London Meux’s Brewery and the exterior still features the beautiful original Meux Brewery glazed tiles.

After 129 years of trading, it closed in 2010 and then reopened in 2011 as D:Ream Bar and Lounge. D-Ream lasted just over a year, closing in October 2012.

Railway Fruit Stores

The photograph (below) shows that the Windmill Street side was once used as the ‘Railway Fruit Stores’, offering ‘English and Continental Fruits’. There’s no date on this image, but you can see the Woodville Halls (visible in the background), which opened in November 1968.

Railway Fruit Stores, Railway Tavern, Gravesend.
Railway Fruit Stores, Railway Tavern, Gravesend. Photo courtesy Dover Kent Archives.

The building now trades as Treatz Dessert Parlour, one of two pubs in the town that have reopened as ice cream parlours.

This is just one of many pubs to have recently closed in Gravesend. Since the turn of the century, 24 pubs in the town have closed their doors for the final time. This is part of an ongoing project.

The Railway Tavern at the Dover Kent Archives.

Update

August 2026: Treatz closed in early 2025. At the time of writing, the building sadly remains empty.


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