The Conquering Hero, Upper Norwood, SE19

Official site of The Conquering Hero - www.theconqueringhero.com

Official site of The Conquering Hero - www.theconqueringhero.com

This pub is ploughing a bit of a lone furrow up on the top of Beulah Hill, midway between West Norwood and Thornton Heath. It’s a pleasantly traditional place with lots of dark wood beams and a carpeted interior. The front section is roughly U shaped and was quite clearly two separate bars at some point in the past before being opened out into its present form. Tankards hang from the beams above the bar and there is a collection of various pots and jugs over the front door, as well as a small selection of books, possibly for swapping. Most of the locals were lined up along the bar counter, down the right side of the pub, and in passing them and the roaring fireplace that was keeping them warm, I discovered that the pub actually opens out quite a lot to the rear. There are several tables here with standard chairs and a few luxurious looking leather sofas. At the rear of the room, near the door for the beer garden, there is a pool table and dartboard, whilst a big screen was showing the afternoon’s FA Cup fixture. The walls are decorated with some old Cinzano and Martini adverts, a large pub mirror, old black and white photos of the pub and local area and lots of items relating to Horatio Nelson, who I supposed must be the ‘Conquering Hero’ of the pub’s name until I read in David Rothwell’s ‘Dictionary of Pub Names’ that the name comes from a popular Thomas Morell poem (‘See, the conquering hero comes! Sound the trumpets, beat the drums’). The same two ales were on the bar as when Rex visited in 2008 – Courage Best and Deuchars IPA. I had a pint of the IPA for £3.35, and it went down nicely. The locals seemed pretty laid back and I quite liked the feel of the place and felt comfortable relaxing over my pint whilst watching the match. There aren’t too many other pubs in the immediate area, but the local residents have got a decent little pub here. It’s a shame the beers were a bit predictable and it would be nice if one of the many new London breweries could be represented, but I guess they sell the stuff the locals enjoy. Worth a look if passing.

This is another one of those OK pubs – nothing very special about it but fair enough if you happen to be passing. It’s obviously originally a Courage pub, with some of the original tilework remaining outside. Rather nostalgically it had Courage Best on, but I went with the Deuchars IPA, which was pretty good. I remember this pub from many years ago when there two separate bars. It’s a bit TARDIS-like; a fairly small frontage conceals a pub that goes back quite long way. They don’t do food, which is a shame, though of course they will say that they don’t get the call for it. This was one of my regular haunts in the days when pubs weren’t open all day. A 5.30 PM Saturday opening time was very welcome when you’ve watched Palace get beaten at home again and you’ve spent 45 minutes or so walking uphill from Selhurst Park!