Ready to open: The Dark Horse has galloped towards tomorrow’s big day
Less than six months since Croydon lost one of its more cherished old boozers, when profitable brewery Shepherd Neame opted to close The Two Brewers on Gloucester Road, its only pub in the borough, the place is set to re-open tomorrow, with new owners, different beers and a new name.
The pub has been bought by the team that was previously behind the bar at the Royal Standard, and tomorrow The Dark Horse opens after undergoing three months of refit and decoration work.
Given how the pub – a short walk from Selhurst Park – had always been a favourite with Crystal Palace fans on match days, the new name could be very fitting.
When Shepherd Neame got out, with the pub being offered for sale at £400,000 at the start of the year, locals feared it would be bought by developers for flats.
The pub was once described by this website, in a search for the snuggest winter pubs in Croydon, as “effortlessly cosy at any time of the year”.
And CAMRA had described the pub in its previous guise as “a fine example of an English town pub, the building being two Victorian cottages converted into a traditional charming hostelry”.
The re-opening should finish the latest round of “Croydon musical bar stools”, as Emma and Paul complete the move from the Royal Standard, in central Croydon, where Esther Sutton, the landlady of Addiscombe’s The Oval Tavern, has taken on the licence.
The Dark Horse will offer Bass and Proper Job ales, plus guest beers and a wide range of lagers and cider.
‘Cosy at any time of the year’: inside the new-look Dark Horse
The new owners are hopeful for opening night, despite what an insider has described as “a lot of technical difficulties”.
They have an Instagram account: @darkhorsecroydon.
Today, the Croydon and Sutton branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, declined to comment on the re-opening, preferring to wait until their members have had an opportunity to try out the refurbished pub, and its beers.
One official did express “regret” over another change of a traditional pub name.
“The Two Brewers is a pub which sold cask beers throughout the existence of the Croydon and Sutton branch of CAMRA,” they said. “Any further comment must be reserved until we can actually visit and assess the refurbished pub, and what is on offer.”
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I wish them every success, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over the closure of Croydon’s last Shepherd Neames. To add insult to injury, I cannot find their peerless 1698 anywhere without ordering. That’s unacceptable. Whitstable Bay is a fine chucking ale, but real men, real ale connoisseurs, need more. And 1698 proivides ‘more’ in spades!
I popped in yesterday and was very impressed. A lot of work and money has been put into making it a very homely and welcoming pub. Three real ales on offer: Bass, Proper Job, and the beer that I chose, Five Points Brickfield Brown, which was in excellent condition. There is also a good selection of other beers for those who do not drink real ale.
The beer garden is very good also providing cover for when the days are not so bright and sunny, with a food hut in situ which I understand will be providing burgers.
Instead of moaning about ““regret” over another change of a traditional pub name”, why not celebrate the fact that one of the few back street locals left in the town has been saved from property developers and go and support this pub and others like it. Support back street pubs or they will just become a part of history.
Always a fave pub with great ales – we were always welcomed there to play darts – loved Shep Neame beers