The Coach House Restaurant
Once a Coach house to the nearby Manor, this hidden restaurant tucked away in the grounds of the Garden Centre has an old world charm all of its own and has been a favourite for discerning diners for nearly thirty years.
A wide choice of excellent dishes are on the menu with our produce fresh from the market daily. Our fine wine list complements the menu perfectly, and a special two-course menu is available at lunchtimes.
Ruxley Manor Garden Centre, within which lies The Coach House restaurant.
Way back in 1080, William the Conqueror gave the land at Rokesle, as it was then known, to his half-brother, Odo, Bishop of Baieux. He rented this out to a certain Malgerius who assumed the name Malgerius of Rokesdale. At that time, eight knights commanded by William were given the task of defending Dover Castle and Malgerius did his annual twenty-day stint.
To this day, you still enter Dover Castle through the Ruxley gate.
Down the ages, various families have occupied the Manor House. Gregory de Rokesdale became Lord Mayor of the City of London from 1274 to 1285, this being perpetuated in a tablet on the wall of Lloyds Bank in Lombard Street. The present house dates from the 17th Century with later additions, although some of the interior is probably 15th or 16th Century.
To the right of the house is a large Mulberry tree which goes back to between 1610AD and 1615AD, when it was decreed in James 1st time that all landowners should be encouraged to produce silk. However, silkworms only enjoyed white mulberries and, unfortunately, the blue variety was planted.
Today, the Manor House has been converted into a Children’s Day Nursery under the name of Grace’s, she being the last member of the family to live there.
St Botolph’s Church
Also on the site is St Botolph's Church, to be seen at the top of one of the large car parks. Mentioned in the Doomsday Book, it was de-consecrated by Cardinal Pole in 1557 and was subsequently used as a barn and storehouse.
During the 1960s, some archaeological work discovered that the current church stands on the site of an even earlier wooden building dating back to the 9th Century.