Chandos, Forest Hill

Three-storey of yellow London brick with the right hand side being of single storey in stone (painted turquoise in recent years) and built in the early 1900’s (the Charrington’s Archive indicates the pub has been owned by them since 1912 – a photo dated 1919 shows the exterior as now).

Left hand entrance is up a terrazzo staircase into a vestibule with double doors leads to a large room with a bare wood floor that must have been two rooms in the past. The bar counter which is at two angles looks to be at least from the 1930s, (less ornate than that on the right) but painted turquoise and its position does match the bar back. The original bar back fitting has coving at the top with floral detail picked out in gold, mirrored sections and some with modern tiles. The lower shelving on the right hand side has been lost to fridges but is intact on the left side. The dado panelling is modern painted a dull green colour and a fireplace has been lost. The exterior windows have an inter-war style but most are modern replacements. There is an open kitchen in the rear section of the room. In the refurbishment of September 2016 Enterprise made a vast improvement by removing imposing pot shelves.

The right hand entrance in Codrington Hill up a terrazzo staircase also leads into a vestibule with double doors but is not currently in use. Access to the right hand bar is via a part glazed full height screen which looks original with double doors always open. The right hand bar has a floor covering of modern lino laid diagonally and the full height wall and ceiling panelling looks modern and painted a dull green colour. The curved bar counter here is definitely the original with three pilasters and the front is painted turquoise. The small section of original bar back is as that in the left hand bar and the lower shelving here is intact.