The Tumbledown Dick The Tumbledown Dick The Tumbledown Dick is a former public house on the site of a new McDonald's restaurant in Farnborough, Hampshire, in the United Kingdom, that operated from the 16th century until the early 21st century. The name of the pub originates as the satirical nickname given to Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell, after his abrupt fall from power after a brief nine-month reign in 1658–59. The pub was the central focus of Farnborough before its 19th-century refocus toward North Camp and the current town centre's 20th-century development. Local folklore links the pub with various historical figures, including
The Tumbledown Dick pub. In August 2012 the freehold owners of the building, Bride Hall Investments, made an agreement to sell it to the McDonald's restaurant chain. The following October, a community group was formed as The Friends of the Tumbledown Dick with the goal of raising local awareness, mounting a legal challenge to the demolition of the pub, and eventually purchasing the property to re-open it as a community run pub. , a petition to save the pub had attracted over 3000 signatures. In 2013 planning application was granted to change the use of the building from a pub to restaurant/takeaway combined