Terry Spinks MBE and ‘The Crown’

Terry Spinks MBE.

If you had ventured into ‘The Crown’ pub during the early 1980's you would have been politely greeted by a small, smartly dressed man wearing glasses and a suit. In reality he was far from ordinary having experienced the ups and downs of nationwide fame. Terry Spinks former professional boxer, ABA champion and gold medal winner at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 had become new landlord of ‘The Crown’ pub.

Originally from Canning Town in London’s East End, Terry arrived at ‘The Crown’ on September 21st 1981. His opening ceremony saw many famous faces from the boxing world converge on Upchurch, including Alan Minter, Terry Downes, Gary Davidson and Jimmy Revie.

Intending to make his business a success, Terry initially closed the pub for two months and had the interior completely refurbished. Having previously been a rather bare interior with three bars, it was converted into one large, neatly decorated bar with wooden ceiling beams, new carpets and furniture. Terry even had the initials of himself and his wife Barbara engraved into the wood of the bar. The result was an immediate improvement and an influx of more customers.

Such was Terry’s popularity that soon he was in demand for personal appearances at local boxing functions throughout Kent. He also raised £606 for charity at H.M.S Pembroke in Chatham and sponsored the first ever car to run on petroleum gas at the Lombard RAC Rally.

After being told by locals that the pub was haunted because of its location next to the church graveyard, Terry noticed that barrels were mysteriously being moved out of position in the cellar and lights were periodically flickering in the building. Feeling that something wasn’t quite right Terry caused a sensation by calling in the vicar who performed an exorcism to rid the establishment of possible evil spirits.

Terry owned an Old English Sheepdog named Ben and saw the funny side of its eating habits. The dog loved crisps so much that it became overweight. Forced to put his pet on a diet, Terry placed a sign around its neck which stated ‘Don’t feed me.’ A hungry Ben obviously unimpressed would sometimes sneak behind the bar, take a packet of crisps from the crisp box, tear it open with its teeth and eat the contents. Terry maintained that the dog took after him because it ate the wrong things.

Terry and his wife Barbara left ‘The Crown’ in 1987 and became tenants of ‘The Coach and Horses’ pub in Worthing Sussex. Unfortunately, after getting divorced Terry became seriously ill but recovered in Sutton Manor Clinic in Newnham in 1993. He later appeared on TV in ‘This is Your Life’, in one episode of ‘The Bill’ and in the film ‘Shiner’ with Michael Caine. After another spell raising money for charity Terry was eventually awarded the MBE in recognition of his achievements in November 2001. Terry later moved to Essex where his cousin Rosemary looked after him but he continues to be fondly remembered in Upchurch as the most famous person to have managed ‘The Crown’.

About the author:
David Wood was born and raised in Upchurch and is able to write from personal experience about many people and aspects of the village and of changes that have taken place over the years making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable book and a detailed historical study of the village. David's book ‘Memories of Upchurch’ is available direct from David on:  david3702001@yahoo.co.uk  price £12 + p+p £2.

David Wood
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