About the Whitmore

The Whitmore Arms is a 300 year old coaching house with an interesting history.

The upstairs was, at one time, used to hold meetings of the Parish Council. It has also served as the village post office. Small Parish Court hearings were held in the building from time to time. In fact Orsett was the original seat of local government for the area and the site of a palace of the Bishop of London in medieval times. The village lock-up, which was last used as a prison in 1848, and the animal pound still exist.

The pub used to be called The George. It was won in a bet by the Whitmore family in the 1780s, and hence the change of name. The Whitmore family owned the whole of the Whitmore estate, which was very extensive and included Orsett Hall.

The Whitmore Arms is a Greene King pub. Green King has operated pubs and brewing for over 200 years. Combining successful traditional ale brands with modern forward thinking, Greene King has grown steadily from its base in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk to become a leading pub retailer and brewer. In line with this, the Whitmore Arms has grown a solid and enviable reputation as a pub of quality, in terms of its quality of drinks, food and service.

Margaret & Jim

Margaret and Jim Orman are the Landlady and Landlord of the Whitmore Arms. They are both locally born and bred, and have had many years experience in the retail trade.

Five generations of Jim's family have worked in the retail trade, selling newspapers and confectionery, and then running the post office in West Tilbury.
Margaret and Jim entered the licensing trade in 1987. After a very successful stint in their first pub, they took over the Whitmore Arms in 1997.

Their success at the Whitmore Arms is clearly evident. Under their leadership the pub has grown considerably, winning many local and national awards, as well as being the top performing business in Thurrock for each of the last 6 years.

Jamie & Victoria

At present, the Whitmore is managed by Margaret and Jim, and their son and daughter, Jamie & Victoria, Together, they ensure that the sixth generation of the Orman family is committed to the retail trade. Both say the pub is successful because it works hard to establish and maintain high standards of quality and consistency.