Crooked Beam
The much-loved Crooked Beam restaurant hid a 16th-century gatehouse and a false murder legend before it was demolished. Hidden off Barrack Road, Christchurch, the building dated from 1538 and first served as the gatehouse to the Jumpers Estate. It later became The Crooked Beam, a restaurant known for its low Tudor timbers, traditional British food and links to local history.
Crooked Beam building. (Image: Echo)
For years, diners repeated a claim that Ethel Le Neve, the fugitive lover of Edwardian murderer Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen, had owned the restaurant. The story said she had escaped to Christchurch under a false name and built a new life there.
Research by John Peatey and the Christchurch History Society later found no genuine connection between Le Neve and the site.
Historians concluded the tale came from sightings, misinformation and coincidences.
Crooked Beam restaurant. (Image: Echo)
The restaurant continued to attract customers from across Dorset, who ate in a building that offered a link to the area’s past.
However, changing eating habits and financial pressure in hospitality led to its decline.
Its owners spent four years trying to find a buyer who would keep the business open.
Unable to secure one, they submitted plans in May 2013 to demolish the gatehouse and build a three-storey block containing ten flats.
Crooked Beam restaurant. (Image: Echo)
The proposals ended the building’s long connection with Christchurch and removed a surviving piece of Tudor history.
Although the legend gave the restaurant a link to a notorious criminal case, the historical record did not support it. The building’s later use as a restaurant made it part of daily life for generations, but its heritage could not prevent redevelopment. Its removal marked the end of a site that had stood in Christchurch for nearly five centuries.
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