The Cricketers, Chessington

This is a pretty basic no frills pub, but it did have Brain’s SA, which was in good nick and at £2.90 certainly not overpriced. There was no sign of any food or menus when I was in here on Wednesday lunchtime. As you enter, the horseshoe bar is straight in front of you. This part of the room on the right has a bit of cheap looking carpet on the floor, with a few normal tables and chairs, and a couple of sofas and low table in their rightful place in front of ther fireplace. The room extends to the left, into what would have been the public bar and in fact is effectively still one. It is bare-boarded, and contains the dartboard, pool table, and the “Rolling Stones” pinball machine. The pinball played rather well, although of course the usual pitfalls were there to catch out the unwary. There’s no decor worth mentioning, and there was some musoc being played – too loudly in my opinion. In fact loudly enough for the only other customer in there (a regular I would guess) to ask for it to be turned down. This is an ordinary locals’pub. It’s not really worth seeking out, but I’m glad that there are some of these sort of pubs left. The service was friendly and welcoming, with the traditional thanks offered as I left.

The original Cricketers pub was a licenced beer house and opened in 1867 however the building of the current name appears to be more of an inter-war addition, a period when Hook was being swallowed up by the expanding suburbia. The Cricketers will always have a nostalgic side for me in that it was the closest pub to where I was born and grew up thus becoming one of my first regular pubs. My recent visit was the first in the best part of 30 years but sadly it didn’t really leave me with any great impressions. The exterior still displays the original Public and Saloon bar signage and lead to their respective similarly sized rooms with just a single open doorway separating them. The Saloon bar to the right is carpeted but quite basic and rough around the edges. The bar is quite drab with half cream paneled walls and red uppers that look a bit gloomy, some banquette seating and a small brick fireplace. There are 3 old local pictures on one wall but on the whole it looks quite bare and dated. The jukebox pumped out some decent music but appeared a bit loud in relation to the paucity of the customer base at the time. The Public Bar is a throwback to how Public Bars used to be; simple and basic with bare floors, a dart board and pool table. There are a couple of Big Screens (HD according to the signage) but sadly not the Space Invaders or Asteroids machines on which I spent many hours perfecting my skills in my later youth. To the rear of the Saloon is a small garden mainly to accommodate the smokers. There are also a couple of benches out the front. In general it is a bit of an old fashioned relic which is no bad thing but two factors let the place down badly. Of the two hand pumps, just Shep’s Spitfire was available and it was so poor that I was quite glad of the woefully short measure. Had there been another option I would have returned it but I perservered to the end. It may have just been a bad day given previous reports so it is an issue that maybe needs further reports. Secondly the coarse and quite laddish customer base was a bit boorish with copious swearing and, just for something a bit different, regular belching although the friendly dog displayed far better manners. I’m glad I have revisited after so many years if only to stir a few memories but on its current showing, I’m not sure I would be in a hurry to return.

The Cricketers retains the original two room format with public and lounge bars, although the entrance now seems to be just via the lounge door. A rather dated and slightly shabby interior, it doesn't look as if much has changed in here for many years. Part wood panelled walls painted red above, the lounge has a 70s style swirly patterned carpet, with the public bar being wood floored. The public has a dartboard, pool table and a gaming machine but very little in the way of seating. The lounge has a couple of bench seats, some farmhouse type chairs and tables and a few bar stools. There is a juke box and fruit machine in the lounge, a drop down screen for sports, with the other TV being in the bar. Very little in the way of decor being limited to a mirror and three or four framed photos of the area in bygone years. A log fire was burning on Saturday evening bringing a little cheer into what is really a pretty spartan space. The pub advertises a Sunday pool competition starting after the televised football. There is a garden area with gazebo to the rear and a handful of bench tables to the frontage. Two handpumps, one unclipped the other serving a pretty decent Shepherd Neame Spitfire.