Westerham's Grasshopper on the Green Is Under Offer After 38 Years on the Market

The Grasshopper on the Green, one of the pubs facing Westerham's village green, went up for sale after 38 years under the same ownership - and as of this week, Rightmove's listing shows it under offer. Commercial property agent Christie & Co had been instructed to find a buyer, with a guide price of £1.25 million for the freehold; "under offer" means a buyer's offer has been accepted, though contracts haven't necessarily exchanged yet, so it isn't a completed sale.

The current owners have held the freehold since 1987 and, according to Christie & Co's listing, this was the last property they still held from what was once a larger portfolio. The pub itself is older still: the Grasshopper's own website dates it to 1636, describing itself as a "Westerham landmark since" that year - slightly at odds with Christie & Co's marketing description of it as a "classic 16th century pub," which would put its origins a few decades earlier. Either way, it's been part of the town for a very long time.

The listing describes three traditional bar areas, a first-floor restaurant overlooking the green, and an adjoining two-bedroom cottage. It's a freehold freehouse - meaning whoever buys it isn't tied to any particular brewery - which typically makes a pub more attractive to a buyer wanting to run their own operation rather than take on a brewery lease.

There's been some chatter locally about a new owner already being in place, but we couldn't independently confirm that - Facebook discussion around the sale mixed together comments about several different local pubs, and Christie & Co's listing has not been withdrawn, only marked under offer. The pub itself is continuing to trade as normal, with its usual quiz nights and events still going ahead. We'll update this once the sale is confirmed as complete. Sources: The Grasshopper on the Green and Rightmove Commercial Property listings.