How many pubs will return?

The Campbell Arms, 1 Campbell Road, Gravesend

Pubs across the country have had a torrid year. With the anniversary of the first lockdown, on March 23, Gravesend’s pubs will have been open for exactly three months (123 days) of the last year and all of those with severe restrictions.

Although the rate of closures had been declining, in the first half of 2019, British pubs closed at 40 each month.*

Man of Kent, Wrotham Road, Gravesend

The square mile of central Gravesend had 29 trading pubs and bars as we entered the first lockdown. Sadly, it seems inevitable that not all of those will reopen when restrictions are partially lifted on April 12.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been documenting just a few.

* Source: Yorkshire Post, 22nd July 2019