A 500-year-old country alehouse has been named the top dining pub in Kent for the sixth time in eight years.

The Three Chimneys in Biddenden has been given the honour by the Good Pub Guide 2017.

The 15th century oak-beamed boozer takes its name from the Seven Years’ War, when up to 3,000 French prisoners were kept at nearby Sissinghurst Castle.

The French seamen were placed on parole in the area and allowed as far as the pub building, which they recognised by the junction of three roads, which they called Les Trois Chemins, which became the Three Chimneys.

The cask ale pub, which is also listed in the Michelin guide, has won the Good Pub Guide dining award in 2015, 2013, 2012, 2010 and 2009.

Its landlord Craig Smith has run it since 1999.

In its 35th edition, the independent Good Pub Guide 2017 was published today.