Antelope, Tooting

A large Victorian building of brick (red at the front and brown at the rear) and stone with claret tiling on the Bickley Street ground floor side. Originally the Foresters Arms, in the inter-war period it was subject to a quality refurbishment carried out by Barclays Perkins & Co. Ltd. Anchor Brewery of Southwark. It was rescued from an uncertain future in 2009 by Antic, who renamed the pub and carried out changes to aid the food trade including creating an open kitchen. However, much remains of the inter-war refit in what is now three large rooms.

Beyond the frontage with its curved windows is the main bar which would have originally been at least three rooms. It retains a U-shaped canted bar counter with two types of panelling on the front all painted a dull shade of green. There is an ornate island bar back with shelving and the top held up by lovely carved pillars and also a mirrored back fitting with a ‘Barclays Beers’ with Samuel Johnson trade mark illuminated panel at the top of the left of four bays; there has been some modernisation to the bar back. There is an excellent rare full height glazed screen at the rear of the right hand side of the room where the higher panels are original but there are a lot of transfers on the lower ones. On the left hand wall above the dado is inter-war panelling which has been painted a gastro grey-green colour and opposite the open kitchen there is an inter-war tiled and wood surround fireplace. There is a door on Bickley Street side that may have been the off sales.

At the rear of the left hand side of the room are double doors in a glazed partition that almost reaches the ceiling (note the figure ‘7’ over the door) leading into what is now a dining room with a very high ceiling. This is virtually unchanged since the inter-war period with fielded panelling to just above half height thankfully not painted, the inter-war curved bar counter (note the cupboards), a bar back fitting consisting of a three mirrored bays and on the return another two bays separated by a doorway to the kitchen for staff. Most of the lower bar back shelves have been replaced by fridges. There is an unusual vestibule-like area near the exterior door on the right hand side and an inter-war tiled and wood surround fireplace.

There is a flight of four steps on the left hand side of the room which leads to another large high-ceilinged room with signs of a skylight so this may have been a billiard room? It has a parquet floor and inter-war fielded panelling to just over half height on most, but not all the walls. Just inside the room on the right created by stud walls is the ladies toilet added in recent years. The curved rear window has stained and leaded panes, the cast-iron fireplace is an addition / replacement and there are two good high-backed settles which are rarely seen in city pubs!

This pub was where the meeting to create the Tooting & Mitcham United Football club was held in 1932. In 1993 the pub was the venue for the first promotion by the newly formed British Ladies’ Boxing Association and featured 10 women fighting six two-minute rounds in front of a crowd of 70 or so. There was a boxing gym above the pub in those days.