The Rifleman, Twickenham

Closed January 2011

This is another small backstreet locals’ pub. They had Young’s Bitter, Courage Best, and Twickenham Spring Ale on when I visited. The Spring Ale was pretty good at £3 a pint. There was a TV on, playing a radio channel; a games machine was also available for those who fancied their chances of beating a computer; tables were mainly iron framed but with unusually seen tiled tops. There was a collection of old black and white photographs on the walls, and the windows were those rather attractive ones with small, framed panes of glass. The beams on the ceiling were painted black, and the walls up to the dado rail level were painted dark red. This was clearly a Courage pub at one time, as evidenced by the large Courage mirror hanging over the fireplace, and traditional sign of the gold cockerel on a red background hanging beneath the main pub sign outside. This struck as a plain unpretentious backstreet pub, to which I would be happy to pay a return visit if I’m in the area again.