The Kings Arms, Horsham

Much improved town centre pub, offering local ales from the 5 handpumps as well as Firebird Bohemia and 360 Hazy Pale amongst the usual range of kegs. The left room is primarily dining, the right containing the bar is where the drinkers congregate. There's also a quirky little snug round the back which leads into a small but well laid out courtyard. With the Malt Shovel just round the corner, it's easy to while away a few hours in this part of town.

This pleasant, two-room boozer just outside of the town centre, gives the impression of being a gastro pub on approach but, once inside, feels like a proper traditional pub. The exterior is worth taking a second or two to admire, with its hanging-tile façade liberally covered with colourful hanging baskets and planters that make the pub easy to spot from some distance away. You enter into an opened-out porch area with the main bar to the right and a dining room to the left. The bar has a quarry stone floor, whilst the servery runs along most of the back wall with its dark wood counter and traditional bar back. Seating appears mostly along the front wall and to the far right of the room, in the form of various benches and chairs. The walls are lined with traditional framed paintings and a few old black and white photos which are all in keeping with the pub’s overall feel. The dining room has dark wood floorboards that match the main bar and a couple of rows of standard table and chair seating. One wall has a small fireplace with an attractive mantle flanked by twig arrangements that look like they would make ideal kindling, whilst above there are no less than three plain mirrors. A nice old lantern has been suspended above the entrance and the walls are decorated with a mixture of landscape paintings and animal portraits. There appeared to be a third seating area behind the main bar area, but I couldn’t figure out how to access it, if indeed it was even there at all, and the usual Covid rules meant that wandering around trying to discover non-existent rooms was severely frowned upon. A cheesy soundtrack played in the background throughout my stay and a decent sized crowd by current standards, meant there was a decent atmosphere on a late afternoon Saturday visit. Just two of the handpulls were in use, offering two beers – Fyrd’s Gold and Conquest – from the local Battle Brewery. I tried the Conquest, which was in good nick although perhaps not the most memorable pint of the day. The staff were nice and friendly and were quick and efficient in sorting out all the Covid protocol before serving me. This was another very pleasant pub visited during my afternoon in Horsham and certainly the one with the liveliest atmosphere. Despite all the menus listing fancy sounding dishes, I didn’t find this too food-orientated and was very happy sat in here enjoying a well-kept pint of ale. A good addition to any pub crawl around town.

Official site of The Kings Arms - kingsarmshorsham.godaddysites.com

Official site of The Kings Arms - kingsarmshorsham.godaddysites.com

The Kings Arms is an 18th century coaching inn run by Hall & Woodhouse so it wasn’t surprising to see three hand pumps drawing First Call, Sussex and Tangle Foot. Also available from the bar to the right of the entrance is a standard keg range including Fosters etc. The bar area is finished off with a keyboard, a couple of gaming machines and a television that was airing the Six Nations. During my recent Saturday afternoon visit there was a friendly crowd in watching this rugby. A pool table is advertised outside, but this has been removed in favour of extra seating to the left of the entrance. The dartboard remains on the left rear wall, but the oche was hidden under tables and chairs. At the rear is a patio garden that I did not visit on this occasion. I found this to be a fairly basic pub, but the welcome was second to none and I would gladly while away the hours in here with a few beers.

local told of an old bishop who hung himself inn the pub,not been tampered with traditional feel