The original Woodman Public House was built by George Staples, a publican and wood merchant, in 1845. At that time there were only nine families living in the hamlet of Blackfen, so he must have been catering for the passing trade on the road from Eltham to Bexley. After his death in 1859 his wife and son took over the running of the pub. There was a tradition that Charles Peace, a notorious burglar around southern London, frequented The Woodman and treated all the customers to a drink. (He was put on trial and executed in 1879).
From 1914 the landlord was John Alfred Harvey, a retired slaughterman who was known for keeping a pet goose. By 1930 it was clear that the old pub no longer met the requirements of the district – farmland was being sold off and hundreds of houses were being built. The new Woodman Inn was built in 1931, erected behind the old one so that business could continue – this explains why the present pub is at an angle facing the crossroads.
Blackfen Past and Present 