The story of the historic Nag's Head pub in Canterbury which became The Bing strip club
Published: 12:00, 09 October 2020
Updated: 23:05, 09 October 2020
From starting life as the Lilypot in the 17th Century to its final fling as a strip club - this Kent pub certainly had a lively history.
The Lilypot in Dover Street, Canterbury, can be traced back to 1626 - but by 1858 it had become the Nag’s Head.
This building was demolished in 1930 and rebuilt slightly back from the original premises.
During a bombing raid on May 31, 1942, the building was destroyed.
But the pub continued to serve, then probably one of the smallest inns in Kent, no larger than 18ft by 14ft and operating from a pre-fabricated bungalow.
After the war, the Nag’s Head was again rebuilt as part of a £11 million development plan in Canterbury lasting 20 years.
The new building opened under Fremlin’s ownership in 1959.
The pub was very popular in the 60s as it contained a children’s room and catered for families, especially on weekends.
It was rebranded as Gators in July 1983 - and in total its name was changed 11 times over the years.
In 1990 it became Gladstones Bar, and then Fat Piggies in 1992.
In the late 1990s it was Buddy Allens sports pub. No one ever knew whether Buddy was a real person or not.
The premises was decorated with American football and basketball pictures on the ceiling.
By the early Noughties the site had become Bar Extreme - a coffee bar with table service in the day, and a disco in the evening.
The toilets were said to have an opaque glass wall segregating the men’s and ladies’ where you could pretend to see through.
Between 2005 and 2012 it became Tonic Bar Bistro, Bar 121 and the Farmhouse.
Finally, in July 2013 it was opened as the Bing strip club, run by father and son Ralph and Alistair Noel.
It sparked much controversy, with neighbours complaining that the business was unsuitable for the area.
The lapdancing venue was demolished in 2017 to make way for 20 flats.
Pictures and information used with kind permission of Paul Skelton of dover-kent.com.
Read more: All the latest news from Canterbury
More by this author
Phil Hayes