Griffin, Claygate

A friendly, attractive two-roomer, rebuilt just after owners Brandon’s Putney Brewery were taken over by the huge London and Burton brewers Mann, Crossman & Paulin Ltd. in 1920. 

The saloon is on the left and the public bar on the right - but beware of lettering in the left-hand doors! It says ‘public bar’ but originally the space behind was an off-sales compartment and the name was added by the present licensee to reflect the change of: a nice touch. The most striking internal feature is the timber and glass screen between the saloon and former off-sales: it has a door just 5ft 6ins high. The screen to the off-sales compartment was removed in, or shortly after, 1977. The saloon retains its interwar bar-back, sloping counter and a pair of brick fireplaces: the servery fittings on the other side are similar but the bar-back is modern, as is the brick fireplace and imitation stone flooring. For a curiosity look out for the old penny-in-the-slot machine in the saloon gents’ (free to today’s users!) The brick fireplaces may be from the Claygate Fireplace Co. founded in 1922; its ‘Old English’ brick fireplaces were sold all over the UK for the next 40 years,