Smiling again!

This was what the Alchemist, at 225 St John's Hill, SW11 1TH (near Clapham Junction/Wandsworth Common), looked like before it closed down a couple of years ago, very nice, and with more than a hundred years history behind it...  

This is what happened to it! Like the Carlton Tavern at Maida Vale (reported in my blog of 29th April this year), it is another London public house to be demolished, but without planning permission! 

Like the Carlton Tavern, the owner has been ordered to rebuild the Alchemist, brick by brick, using original materials! The Council said that "the demolition was a serious breach of planning rules which can only be right by the complete rebuilding and reconstruction... using the same materials and to the same architectural design."   BRAVO! 

See the Standard for more.       

17th May 2012 SW London

Had to revisit Clapham Junction so that I could get to the Eagle this time (opens 2pm), crackin' real ale pub just off the Northcote Road, in Chatham Road. Had a great chat with the landlord too, Dave, who is very knowledgeable about ale and brewers.  They have up to 8 ales on, on Thursday, there were Surrey Hills IPA (4.6%), Saffron Littlebury Lighthouse (4.2%), Redemption Trinity (3%), Pilgrim Weald Ale (3.6%) and Woodforde's Wherry, and the ales were in good form too.  I shall return. 

Before we visited the Eagle, we had walked along the south embankment of the Thames from Putney Bridge, well, I did; I met my bro in Wandsworth Park. Consequently, we passed the Ship, near Wandsworth Bridge, a pub that neither of us had visited for years, and I mean years!  This is a Young's house, so serves up Special and 'Ordinary' bitters, but also had 2 Sambrook's ales, Wandle (3.8%) and Pale Ale (4.2%).  We tried a pint of the Pale Ale, which it certainly was pale, but a bit lacking in hops for my taste, not very bitter, thus easy enough to knock back.  Very friendly young staff, and we sat overlooking the river, and one of the remaining industrial parts of London. 

In between these 2 pubs, we visited The Castle in Battersea High Street, which holds its 'wake' today (Saturday), as the licensees are being evicted by the landowners, who want to build flats on a site which has been occupied by a pub since 1600! The present pub is from the mid 1960s, and, as they're getting rid of stock, there was only Doom Bar for us, which was just about OK.  Good luck with the continuing campaign, which can be followed on the facebook page - The Castle Pub Battersea.

We ended our ale drinking at Le Gothique, previously reported on by me, and this photo is actually from our first visit with Kieran.  On Thursday, they were serving Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay (4.1%), Skinners Keel Over (4.2%) and RCH East Street (5%).  We had a good time, though, chatting with one of the locals in particular (a Cork man, who lives in the building, so he had a long walk home).   

Sláinte!

The Roundhouse - Penultimate stop today (10th)

The Roundhouse, Wandsworth Common North Side, is another old haunt of mine, had a few beers here, and seen a few groups too, and it remains a place for gigs, but also is an eatery, and has been done up winebar-ish, nice though. The food looks good, available lunch and evenings, apparently a great roast on Sundays; not the cheapest prices, but reasonable for the area, and around the Junction is a bit more upmarket than in my yoof!

The place was packed with young things along the left as you come in, leaving the right hand side vacant for us, and some others that came in soon after us.

There were 3 ales on offer, the Wandsworth brewed Sambrooks Wandle (regular), Hogs Back TEA (virtually a regular, apparently on about 80% of the time), plus a guest, for us it was Purity's Pure Ubu, a cracking 4.5% golden ale!