It is believed that the name "Tiger" is taken from the local manor house family’s coat of arms despite the fact that the animal depicted there is a leopard! As neither animal would have been seen in the 15th Century, such a mistake is distinctly possible. One of the firebacks in the public bar is inscribed 1622, and The Tiger is referred to as a 15th Century Inn. 17th Century records state that there was a disused "malthouse" in East Dean, which may possibly refer to the Tiger Inn, and which may have been suppressed when Cromwell was in power.
The Inn was known to be used as a base for smugglers and by far the more sinister "wreckers" who showed bogus lights on shore at night to lure storm-driven vessels to destruction. It was customary for these wreckers to throw back into the sea any of the crew who escaped the destruction of the ship. The three cottages adjoining the Tiger were used as barracks during the Napoleonic wars and like the Tiger Inn are parts of the Gilbert Estate.
