It's always wonderful to see that when a chain takes over a piece of local history, it retains many of the magnificent features!
This was my first visit to The Golden Hope in Sittingbourne, Kent where the old magistrate's court, rather than being knocked down to make way for flats which happens so often here in England, has been bought by a pub chain.
Here you can see all the brickwork is original. This beautiful spiral staircase and all the other walls are just steeped in history.
You can imagine the guards striding along this corridor with their clanking key chain to bring the prisoners up for their case to be heard.
You can even have your meal and a drink in the converted cells ......
