Home Counties: Chequers Inn

Doddington, Kent

One of the few signs of modernity on the outside of the 700-year-old Chequers Inn is a small wireless antenna. Inside the Shepherd Neame-tenanted outlet, licensee Liz Sewell and partner Craig Jenner look after a classic English village pub that has been virtually unaltered by the passage of time. Apart from when locals call in to turn on their laptop computers and make use of the Chequers' WiFi broadband connection to use the internet or check for e-mails.

Just over a year ago, the pub was one chosen by Sheps to pioneer the wireless revolution in small villages in the Kent countryside where a conventional broadband service was unavailable. Liz describes the response from villagers both using WiFi in the pub and at home as being "absolutely wonderful", which has made the Chequers the hub of internet life as well as the hub of village life in Doddington.

Last April, Liz and Craig strengthened the Chequers' place in the community by allowing a travelling Post Office to use the pub for a couple of hours on Monday afternoons. Again, says Liz, the service has been well received by the 450 villagers.

In addition to these two services, the pub provides a meeting place for many local groups and societies such as the allotment society, folk music groups, the village's pantomime players, and the Norton classic motorcycle club.

The community ethic is also evident when Liz says: "We want to keep the Chequers as a village pub that is wet-led. Plenty of pubs offer food, but not many retain their character. We do serve food, but it's proper pub food such as sausages and mash and it is all cooked freshly to order by me. We don't pretend to do gourmet food and will never turn into a gastro pub."

Part and parcel of a village pub's life is to support the local business community and the Chequers is no exception. It sources meat and prize-winning sausages from the village butcher as well as produce from the nearby cheesemaker.

"We are a central part of the Doddington community jigsaw and will continue to work closely with other local businesses and organisations to ensure that both the pub and village continues to be successful."

Liz has been at the pub's helm for 18 years and is determined to maintain its traditional feel while offering services that are relevant to 21st-century village life.