The Gregorian, Bermondsey, SE16

This pub has been well described by Trish below. It's an unusual building, but a bit rough around the edges. There's some good wood panelling and the bar counter is a handsome beast. Four hand pumps offering beers from Yorkshire and the south west, but I went for the Vilden Pale, which was very good (NBSS 3.5, £4.40/pint).

A short walk from Bermondsey tube, this has a very old history dating all the way back to the mid-16th century, the current incarnation being an inter-war years pub, rebuilt in the brewers’ Tudor style, still run by Antic. There’s some Courage lettering to the fascia, then it’s into a big rambling place. On the right is a snug dedicated to watching sport; to the left, there’s a private hire snug. Thereafter, it’s a big room with a worn – probably original – herringbone parquet floor, slightly brewers’ Tudor interior only marginally Anticfied, deeply coffered ceiling to the main room, wood panelling – probably original – framed Georgian prints, patterned plates above the picture rail and a grand crystal chandelier; tables were conventional, whilst chairs had tubular steel legs, said tables home to numbered bottles containing dead flowers. To the right, there’s a charming little snug with various knickknacks; customers were a younger, trendy crowd, the pub well attended on my Thursday evening visit. There were just two ales on offer, which was a bit of a disappointment as I could have done with a Plum Porter refill, with just Tribute then Volden Pale at a reasonable £2.40 a half, served by a friendly barmaid and on good form. This is a pretty decent pub, making for a good double with the very fine Old Justice, a couple of minutes’ walk north of here.