The Unicorn Inn

The Unicorn Inn is a historic public house in Canterbury, Kent, England, occupying a building first erected in 1593 as a house for Robert Budden, a Canterbury woollen draper. It is one of the last genuinely family-run pubs in the city and trades from a timber-beamed, woodburner-warmed interior in the Westgate area of St Dunstan's, with a walled garden that has become a local landmark. The pub is a free house in character rather than a branded chain outlet, and its website presents it as a cosy, traditional English inn with a long continuous history of hospitality. The site's licensed history begins in the 17th century. After passing through the hands of a leather merchant, Solomon Buesden, and then his son Isaac, a licence to sell ales was applied for in 1664, and the premises were registered under the name "The Unicorn" by Jacob in 1692. Over the following centuries the inn passed through many landlords, was briefly renamed "The Star" in the 1740s before reverting, and acquired a colourful reputation in the early 19th century when it was known as a bawdy house. The building's fabric and its long list of innkeepers are documented on the pub's own history page. In the modern era The Unicorn Inn operates as a neighbourhood local and destination pub, offering cask ales, a Sunday quiz, dog-friendly hospitality, and a garden. It was named CAMRA Pub of the Year in 2014, a recognition reflected in its own web title. The pub also serves as a UPS Access Point, an example of how a small historic inn has adapted to contemporary parcel-logistics needs. Booking is advised on Friday evenings and Saturdays, and the Sunday quiz is run through the pub's Facebook page. The Unicorn Inn is privately owned and family-run, with no parent company or listed status. Its identity is tied to its building, its garden, and its continuity as a St Dunstan's institution rather than to a multi-site brand. It is a commercial hospitality business and a recognised heritage pub in Canterbury.

The Unicorn Inn stands on a site in the Westgate area of Canterbury, Kent, where a house was first built in 1593 for Robert Budden, a woollen draper of Canterbury who also owned two other properties in the city. After Budden's widow sold the property in 1638, it was bought by a leather merchant named Solomon Buesden, who traded hides from the house for many years. When Solomon died in 1661 the business passed to his son Isaac, and in 1664 Isaac applied for a licence to sell ales from the premises. At that stage the building was known simply as an ale house in St Dunstan's. Isaac died in 1692 and his brother Jacob took on the ale house, registering the house under the name "The Unicorn". Jacob kept The Unicorn until 1708, when he sold it to Thomas Snelling, a shoemaker, who held it until 1712 and then sold it to Henry Nat Vile. Vile was granted a full licence for the house and kept it until his death in 1736, when his daughter Susannah inherited it; she ran The Unicorn while also working as a milliner. Susannah sold the pub in 1741 to Stephen Stokes, who changed the name to "The Star". The new name proved unpopular and the following year he changed it back to "The Unicorn". Stokes kept the pub until 1763, when he sold it to Phillip Watson. Watson leased the pub to various people, including Zacharia Powell and William Norris, before selling the house in 1780 to Francis Giles, a fellow brewer. Nathan Salmone took the lease and stayed until 1787, being succeeded that year by James L. Fisher. Before the end of the 18th century there were three other innkeepers: Thomas Sewell in 1794, Frederick Solley in 1796 and Thomas Patcher in 1799. While in the hands of Patcher, The Unicorn became known as a "bawdy house", and between 1802 and 1808 certain affrays took place resulting in jail time for the accused. This colourful period forms part of the pub's own published history. Over the 19th and 20th centuries the inn continued to trade as a public house on the same site, accumulating the timber beams and traditional features that define its interior today. By the 21st century it had become one of the last genuinely family-run pubs in Canterbury, and its walled garden in Westgate acquired a reputation as a local "sun trap" and St Dunstan's legend. In 2014 the pub was named CAMRA Pub of the Year, a distinction it highlights on its website. In the 2020s it operates as a traditional free-house-style local, offering cask ales, a Sunday quiz, dog-friendly hospitality, and a UPS Access Point service, while advising customers to book on Friday evenings and Saturdays.

• 2014

  Named CAMRA Pub of the Year.

• 1799

  Thomas Patcher becomes innkeeper; the pub later gains a reputation as a bawdy house.

• 1780

  Francis Giles, a brewer, buys the house.

• 1742

  Name reverted to "The Unicorn" after "The Star" proved unpopular.

• 1741

  Stephen Stokes buys the pub and briefly renames it "The Star".

• 1712

  Henry Nat Vile granted a full licence for the house.

• 1692

  Jacob registers the house under the name "The Unicorn".

• 1664

  Isaac Buesden applies for a licence to sell ales from the premises.

• 1638

  Sold by Budden's widow to leather merchant Solomon Buesden.

• 1593

  House built for Robert Budden, a Canterbury woollen draper.

A historic, family-run traditional English pub and local institution in Canterbury, known for its garden, cask ales, and long heritage.

• Cask ales

• Sunday quiz nights

• Garden seating

• Dog-friendly hospitality

• UPS Access Point

1. 1Pub in Canterbury | CAMRA Pub of the Year 2014 | Unicorn Innunicorninn.com
2. 2History of Our Pub | The Unicorn Innunicorninn.com
3. 3About Us | The Unicorn Innunicorninn.com
4. 4The Unicorn Innwikidata.org