History

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The Grasshopper Inn stands in the centre of Westerham overlooking the green which was for many years the local market place.

The Inn derives its name from the heraldic crest of the Greshams, an ancient family who had a country seat at Titsey, 2 miles outside Westerham.

One of the most famous members of this family was Thomas Gresham, the Tudor merchant who founded the Royal Exchange and whose brilliant advice to Henry VIII earned him a knighthood. Henry VIII was a frequent visitor to these parts when courting Ann Boleyn who lived at Hever Castle which is nearby to Westerham.

The town appears in the Doomsday survey of 1086 as Oistreham. Its famous son's include John Frith the Protestant martyr who was burnt at the stake in 1533. It is believed that Frith was the son of former Landlord of the Grasshopper Inn, which even in that era was already several centuries old.