Prince Of Wales, Clapham, SW4

Dating from at least the mid-19th century, this is one of a troika of pubs in this triangle and has been under the same stewardship since 1979. It’s well described below, with bric-a-brac aplenty, black lacquered floor and a traffic light, probably the most prominent item amongst many covering every square inch. Furniture is mixed, the bar back original and customers were an older more bohemian set, all to a decent ‘80s’ soundtrack. An unused pump was joined by a reversed Sussex Best clip, then Landlord, £2.90 a half, on good form, served by a friendly barmaid who gave me an unprompted top-up; another barman was equally engaging. This is a great little pub, by far the best yet visited in SW4; the promised guest ale, e.g. Twickenham Naked Ladies, would have got the score up, likewise having the Sussex Best online.

A tall and thin street-corner pub located in the heart of Clapham’s Old Town, I’m not sure it looks especially enticing from the outside, but we were passing by and wanted another pint before retiring for the night, so decided to give it a go. Internally, as far as I could make out, it consists of one long single room, but it was completely packed in there and we didn’t wander far, being fortunate to grab a small table right in the corner. Décor wise I noticed back wooden boards on the floor that had been worn shiny and smooth over the years, but the main feature of note was the plethora of bits and bobs all over, and suspended from the ceiling. It’s one of those pubs where there really isn’t a spare square inch of space, which always makes for an interesting visit. The walls were liberally covered with pictures, many of royalty (presumably Prince’s of Wales, but I’m no expert), but also plates, shields, old lanterns, clocks and even a moose’s head and bull’s head as well as a Clapham Common Underground sign on the bar counter. Items on the ceiling meanwhile included flags, posters, boots, buckets, a cart, a large model airplane and a hot air balloon with a basket suspended below full of meerkats. The only thing that really spoilt the ambience was three TV screens showing the rugby, but other than that it was most entertaining. Beers on tap were Timothy Taylor Landlord, Abbott Ale and Harvey’s Sussex Best, the latter of which I would like to have tried had I spotted it before ordering my Inch’s Medium Apple cider. Overall, I thought this was a great little pub, with a really friendly young crowd in and a rather unexpected find compared to many of the very food-focused and modernised options nearby.

Small one room pub with bar to the left. Four hand pumps including a cider @ 7% ABV. Some outside seating. Various items on the walls and ceilings, including two sets of traffic lights. One of the stop lights wasn't working.

As Steve mentions below a very quirky and quite atmospheric pub,all manor of things adourn the walls and hang from the ceiling,from stuffed animal heads and various puppets to all sorts of impliments and ceramics. In comparisson the three beers on were a little ordinary, Harveys Bitter,Woodefords Wherry and Sambrooks Pumphouse Pale, the latter was perfectly good though. Another good pub in this area.

After visiting other pubs in the area that have undergone gastro makeovers or are aimed a twenty-something crowd I was taken aback as I entered the Prince of Wales. My surprise was due to the plethora of curios that hangs from every square inch of the ceiling and walls in this dimly lit pub. Surprisingly there is also space for a television which was off, which I imagine is its normal state. The background music was very depressing and nearly had me reaching for some black nail varnish. The single room interior is laid out with some tables under the front windows and along the right hand wall. The bar on the left hand wall supports a premium keg selection and I counted four hand pumps. These were drawing Harveys’ Best, Truman’s Swift, Sambrook’s Pumphouse Pale Ale and Millwights’ Cider. There was also a large selection of bottled beers from around the world. Food is not available and I doubt that children are welcome. There is a quiz on Thursdays from 20:00 and it should be noted that this pub does not open until 16:00 in the week and 13:00 at the weekend. The late opening is accompanied by late closing which happens at midnight Monday to Thursday and 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. This is a very quirky pub that is certainly worth a look, but I found that a pint was enough before I had to escape.

Official site of Prince Of Wales - www.powsw4.com

Official site of Prince Of Wales - www.powsw4.com

Just off the north-eastern corner of Clapham Common, the Prince of Wales is a small, single room pub made distinctive by its bright neon 'POW' signage and remarkable collection of objects displayed throughout. The interior comprises a fairly narrow room with the servery running down the left hand side and banquette and standard seating arranged along the front and right hand walls. There are a couple of tiled fireplaces at either end of the room, both depicting images of birds and the room has scuffed floorboards and walls painted in a decent red and black colour scheme, not that you can see much of them thanks to the crazy collection of seemingly unrelated items picked up by the landlord on his travels. I noted, among other things, various stuffed animals and birds, a model airplane, a typewriter, numerous antlers, a small cart, an ancient looking (and presumably out-of-action) juke box, fully functioning traffic lights, musical instruments, kites, a windsurf board and an old cigarette machine. In amongst all of this, there are larger collections of pots, pans, kettles and street signs, whilst the ceiling is covered with posters and the walls with cigarette cards. A collection of board games stand on a shelf next to the bar and country music was playing quietly in the background at a level which disturbed me considerably less than some of the rude customers who were sitting on the seats provided outside the front of the pub. The handpulls were offering Harvey's Best, Brains Final Whistle and Sambrooks Junction, as well as two real ciders. A very pleasant French barmaid served me a good pint of the Final Whistle, which I enjoyed in the solitude of the empty room rather than sitting in the sun next to the charmless other customers. A quick look at the fridges revealed a well considered bottled beer selection and the keg range was a mix of well known brands and one or two less commonly seen offerings. I've got a bit of a soft spot for this type of eccentric pub and I really enjoyed my time spent here. It would be interesting to see what the place is like when the interior is busy, as I clearly caught it at the wrong time for any kind of lively atmosphere, so I'm sure I'll return sometime soon.

Small quirky pub overflowing with euphemera.The more you look the more you find but I didn't find it OTT.Three beers on Landlord, Junction and a beer called Dragon fire with a handwritten sign with no brewery name.The barman didn't know where it was from and wasn't interested in finding out for me.Quick Google search says Shep Neame.Any pub that cant be arsed to find which brewery beers they are selling loses points.So there.