Flowers of the Forest, Lambeth, SE1

Tris C left this review about Flowers of the Forest

This pub’s origin lies at the start of the 19th century when this was the Oxford Arms, but I suspect it was rebuilt in the 1930s, the name arriving in the mid-‘90s as a tribute to the original and nearby Flowers of the Forest, demolished a few years earlier. What you can’ t fail to notice on approach, is the mid-20th century once illuminated Take Courage lettering, the old Courage sign bracket but more importantly, the wonderful red and gold Courage box sign; I remember these in abundance from my childhood when you’d see them all over London, their distinctive night-time red glow a welcome indication to the presence of a pub, but now almost all gone; I cannot remember the last time I saw one and sadly this wasn’t even illuminated.
Inside and it’s a very plain opened-out and deflowered affair, with boarded floor, pale grey field panelling to the dado then white walls to a white ceiling with some modern lighting; an all-dominating pool table is to the left-hand side. There’s a games machine, no décor, furniture is traditional and customers weren’t Irish, certainly not the young and studenty types – possibly from nearby Morley College – dominating the beer garden.
No real ale resulted in a half of Stella (£2.55) served by a landlady who was friendly to locals, less so to the uninitiated but she did at least bid me farewell.
I suppose this pub is just about ok, but it could be so much better, being the least inspiring of the pubs constituting my four-hole crawl; the lack of a decent cask ale ensures that I won’t return, but it’s worth a look if only for that lovely sign.

On 3^rd June 2023 - rating: 3
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