The well in the basement

 

 

 

 

 

History of the Rock Inn Pub Brighton

Prior to 1750 there was a barn on the site where the current pub stands. This became a coach house and was then later converted into a pub in 1787.

Smuggling was a huge industry in Brighton at this time and the 40 foot well in the basement was almost certainly used to store contraband over the years.

The cellar doubled up as a morgue in the early days as the pub was one of the only buildings in the area.

In 1912 it closed for a year to become the temporary booking and parcel office for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company, as it was within walking distance of the station.

The Rock also has a reputation for being haunted, supposedly by a woman from Regency times and an excise man who was overcome and hung by smugglers in the well in the early days!