The Hare & Billet, at the junction of Hare & Billet Road (on the left) and Eliot Cottages (on the right). All Saints Church is on the left in the background.
The Hare and Billet in 1780, painted by Thomas Luny
Watling Street, the Roman road to Dover, crossed the bleak and forbidding Blackheath and, in the 18th century, this stretch of the busy route was notorious for its highwaymen. At this time, the Hare and Billet was an isolated coaching inn on the heath.[3] The establishment has been trading since the 1600s.[4]
Location
The pub is on Hare & Billet Road, and across that road lies Hare and Billet Pond, considered to have the most natural appearance and probably the best wildlife habitat of the four ponds on Blackheath.[5] The road is said to be haunted by the ghost of an 18th century woman who hanged herself from an elm tree when her lover failed to meet her there.[6]
The nearest railway station is Blackheath, approximately 0.25 miles away and the Lewisham DLR station is approximately 0.9 miles away. The A2 is 0.3 miles to the north of the pub.[citation needed]
On 20 January 2014, the pub was mentioned by Jim Dowd, MP for Lewisham West and Penge, during a debate in the House of Commons on the Intellectual Property Bill. The Hare and Billet was where Dowd was served Henderson's Relish when he asked for some Worcester Sauce during a meal. As Dowd was unfamiliar with Henderson's Relish he later cited the product as an example of "parasitic copying", namely of the anchovy-based condiment sold under the Lea & Perrins name.[7] Due to the cult following enjoyed by Henderson's in Sheffield and South Yorkshire, Dowd faced a backlash in the media, which included an open letter rebuttal from the Deputy Prime MinisterNick Clegg[8] and Dowd's Labour Party colleague Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central.[9] The pub noted that a number of Sheffielders living in London had visited the pub as a result of the media coverage that was generated.[10]
