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Riviera Centre, Torquay
11-13 April 2025
23 Haltwhistle Road, South Woodham Ferrers, CM3 5ZA
Unit 11, Valley Point Industrial Estate, Beddington Farm Road, Beddington, CR0 4WP
Argyle Place, Love Road, Lowestoft, NR32 2NZ
116, Foregate Street, Chester, Chester, CH1 2HH
Large 1930s pub conveniently situated for both Chelsfield main line rail station and the local R1 bus route, and located just off Warren Road. Having survived threatened demolition in the late 2010s, the pub has now been extensively (and expensively) renovated during the Covid lockdown, and is now back to its best. Cask ale remains well-represented with the two regular beers being augmented by a guest, usually from a small local brewery, and plans for a fourth handpump to be put into operation.
The refurbishment has seen wholesale changes. All carpeting has been removed, replaced by floor tiling around the bar and oak flooring elsewhere.
The interior seating now includes benches and some high tables. As before, the Georgian style windows admit plenty of light. There is a selection of old photographs of the neighbourhood on the walls.
Outside the area in front of the pub now includes much improved seating. There is a patio area to the rear, where the garden is currently being brought back to life.
There are large rooms at each end of the main bar, one is now used as a restaurant whilst the other can potentially be used for functions. Dogs are welcome in the pub provided they are kept well clear of the restaurant area.
For posterity, details of the "Save The Chelsfield" campaign can be found under:
http://www.savethechelsfield.com/
Historic Interest
The public house is of some architectural merit and historic value. It was built in 1938 and has been little altered in terms of its external appearance. It also contains many original internal features. It should, therefore, be regarded as a non-designated heritage asset. At some stage, the pub was renamed the Heavy Horse in the 1980s before reverting back to the Chelsfield. The pub is located adjacent to Chelsfield station, which opened in 1868 at the request of the local landowner, over a mile to the west of Chelsfield village and in the middle of what was then open countryside (Warren Road was built in 1800 linking Farnborough to Chelsfield). In 1925, the land to the south was bought by Homesteads Ltd and developed for housing as a garden estate called Chelsfield Park. In the 1930s, development expanded in what was to be called "New Chelsfield" along Windsor Drive (previously a footpath across the fields), with the pub purpose-built as a community hub. With further housing expansion stopped by the Second World War, the land alongside Warren Road was reserved for the proposed Ringway 3 motorway (abandoned in 1973, except for the nearby embankment in Chelsfield Woods being constructed from wartime rubble).
This Pub serves 1 changing beer and 2 regular beers.
Chelsfield, Chelsfield
Changing beers typically include: Tonbridge - Blonde Ambition
Sports TV
Lunchtime Meals
Evening Meals
Live Music
Garden
Family Friendly
Disabled Access
Parking
Dog Friendly
Real Fire
Restaurant
Smoking
Wi Fi
Real Ale
Cask Marque
Quiet
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