Keeping it in the family at George & Dragon

July 14, 2025

Matthew Sankey, business owner at The George & Dragon

Family history runs deep at this pub in the village of Speldhurst in Kent, where successful hospitality operator Matthew Sankey became the business owner in April this year.

More than 60 years ago, Matthew’s grandparents Richard & Jennifer Sankey bought the pub and made it famous for its game dishes and celebrity customers including Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. When they died, the pub was sold, eventually becoming part of the Brakspear estate.

Matthew received the call from Brakspear about becoming the pub’s business owner in March.

He said: “I always said that if the opportunity came up, I would seriously consider it. The stars aligned and it just felt right.”

The pub was busy immediately on reopening. Matthew says: “In the first week, we  served more than 100 portions of fish & chips and 1,000 pints of beer. The support from the village in particular has been incredible.

“Coming back really feels like home. I remember running around this building as a tiny toddler and I am really pleased that my daughter is now doing the same.”

Matthew plans to renovate the pub in time. For now, he is reinstating the original brass doorknocker shaped, of course, as St George with a dragon.

The George & Dragon is Matthew’s third hospitality venue in the area, alongside two successful sites in Tunbridge Wells.