Beehive, New Eltham

Built 1897 (in colourful plasterwork on the top right hand gable of the building) by Reffell’s Bexley Brewery Ltd. (taken over by Courage & Co in 1956). Two-storey building of yellow brick with colourful plasterwork detail in the first floor and ground floor porch gables of a beehive, flowers and in the first floor one the wording ‘The Beehive’. Although now opened-up there are many original fittings remaining.

The right hand entrance leads to the Public Bar, a large room with the original bar counter curved at both ends with the front now painted cream with black along the base and an old bar top however it appears to have been shortened on the right as there is no counter in front of the right hand section of the bar back. The original eight-bay bar back fitting survives with mirrored panels and doors in bays two and seven with good etched glass and coving possibly of anaglypta along the top painted a pale orange. Most of the lower shelving has been lost to fridges. The dado panelling around the walls looks old but has been painted cream and on the right is a tiled, cast iron and marble fireplace that was originally in the managers office and has been moved here recently. A wide gap has been cut between the right and left hand areas of the pub.

The left hand entrance has a grand porch and leads to the Saloon Bar, another large room which was clearly sub-divided originally. In the vestibule entrance that was a modern addition there are doors with deep etched wording of “Private Bar’ and ‘Bottles & Jugs’ moved from elsewhere in the pub and there are more doors down the left hand side. There is a similar bar counter to that in the Public Bar and curved at both ends with the front now painted cream with black along the base and an old bar top. A door with ‘Coffee Room’ panel on it at the end of the bar back fitting led to a public room, but now a kitchen. The bar back fitting has a number of mirrored panels and a centre-piece of four snob screens, which may be in their original position as there was a Coffee Room behind. The small windows at the top are covered in blackboard paint – the present licensees removed the paint from the other parts of the bar back here. Some of the lower shelving has been lost to fridges. The cornice here includes English Rose symbols.

The rear part was a separate room and the entrance door was where the ladies is now. There is a good baffle / screen with a decorative etched and frosted panel situated in this area. There were three (of originally four) mirrors representing the seasons on the walls here but they were removed by owners Gladewood Taverns recently. There are two marble surround fireplaces with the one at the rear having an early 20th century red glazed brick interior and an ornate mantelpiece; the one at the front has a modern tiled interior. The conservatory-style room on the left was added possibly in the 1930s.