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Disappointment of the week with Gann
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Detail Pages
Well House Inn, Coulsdon
Mugswell
Postal town: Coulsdon
CR5 3SQ
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nick Davies left this review about The Well House Inn
Now acquired by Time Well Spent (see the Sportsman up the road) and has been the subject of a cosmetic refurbishment. The public and main bars are much as they were before. The room to the right and the conservatory are now full blown restaurants in the style of the company's other pubs complete with the dark wood tables and black high backed chairs (you half expect a pocket for a hymn book on the back) which instil a sense of sepulchral doom.
The beer range and quality remains much the same, service a little more formal. It's still very much worth a visit, but you'll have to compete with a somewhat ya-ya eating out clientele enjoying their twelve quid burgers and kangeroo meat steaks.
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Sept 2013 update...
The notes below were written a couple of years ago but nothing has changed, the Well House continues to delight and is in the 2014 GBG.
The Well House is a genuine, unspoilt, ancient country pub in a deep valley down a narrow lane. Only the distant rumble of the M25 reminds you that you are all of 15 miles from central London.
There are three main rooms of varying character plus a recently added conservatory. Public bar complete with dartboard and machines, the central lounge and a larger room at the end which is more restauranty in nature.
And as you should expect - but sadly so often don't any more get - for a 16th century building there's exposed beams and open fires and lots of nooks and crannies.
The beer is good, very good - it's a GBG regular these days. Apart from a couple of the usual suspects there's always another couple of guest ales which seem to change every few days, always something new to try. Always a friendly welcome; cuisine is traditional English pub.
The Well House is by far the best pub by a long stretch around these parts, untouched by chain branding and would-be restaurateurs. Well worth a trip out, a destination for a days walking in the North Downs (and it's very dog friendly) and it's an easy stop on this stretch of the M25.
Note that the Coulsdon postal address is misleading, it is more easily approached from the A217 if you are unfamiliar with the complexity of the lanes round here.
On 18th July 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 567 recommendations about 559 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Well House Inn
Hidden down some tight country lanes that are almost impossible to believe still exist within the M25, this is a fantastic historic, rural pub in a peaceful, attractive setting. The pub is Grade II listed and believed to date back to the 1500's, whilst the well in the garden, from which the pub and surrounding hamlet take their name, was apparently listed in the Doomsday Book. The pub has a suitably traditional multiple room format, with the entrance next to the well leading you into a carpeted main bar with pew and standard seating, a red and cream colour scheme, dark wood ceiling beams and a similarly dark wood servery on the back wall. The room has a real 'lived-in' feel to it, being decorated as it is with the accumulated artefacts of a long and interesting history. Among other things, it's worth looking out for some framed pipe collections, displays of interesting old beer bottles, a series of tankards and all manner of odd looking farm tools. The room's real eye-catching feature is the fabulous inglenook fireplace on the right hand wall which looks great but was sadly not lit during our stay. To the left, there is a second bar in a fairly narrow space with several more tables served by pews and standard chairs. A large TV screen was turned off in this room, although I can't imagine it gets a great deal of use. To the right of the main bar there are some dining rooms, accessed by passing through a narrow space lined with a large number of black and white photographs. The roadside half has a traditional dining room with lots of old beams and pillars and a good amount of formally arranged tables, whilst on the other side there is a slightly incongruous conservatory with smarter furnishings. The garden is on a bit of a gradient and looks like it is well maintained and a nice spot in sunnier months.
On the bar there were five handpulls in operation offering a mix of local and well known beers, with the full range comprising Fullers London Pride, Westerham God's Wallop, Adnams Southwold Bitter, Surrey Hills Shere Drop and Hog's Back England's Glory. I gave the Westerham a try and thought it was in pretty good shape, served up by a welcoming barmaid. We also enjoyed some food here from the reasonably priced pub classics menu and the steak and kidney pudding I ordered was top drawer.
I'd been planning a visit here for some time and have to say I'm glad I got a lift in the end, as I can't imagine it's all that easily accessed by public transport. It's a great example of a traditional rural pub and probably one of the best of it's kind within the boundary of the M25. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit here and I would like to think I'll make it back out here sooner rather than later.
On 17th April 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Well House Inn
Excellent country pub, still as described below, with very good beers and food, which has somehow managed to avoid the commercialisation that has spolit many pubs in Surrey. Cask Marque listed.
On 9th December 2014
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Well House Inn
This is a delightful and genuinely old pub in a fairly isolated setting, easily accessible by car, less so by public transport. I took the train to Kingswood then yomped across country and golf course to find it, well worth the trouble it was too. There are three interconnecting rooms plus a small modern conservatory. The middle room seemed to be the focal point, carpeted with a large inglenook fireplace with stacked logs, the bar is on the back wall where the full range of beers are displayed on the pumps. This visit found Hogs Back Ruby Autumn Ale, Surrey Hills Shere Drop, WJ King King's Old Ale, Adnams Bitter and Pride. The bar extends into the two adjoining areas however there are only a couple of pumps visible in each.
On approaching the pub it is easy to see that it is formed of three cottages knocked together, unusually the main entrance is around the back, beyond the car park and hillside garden. An attractive exterior with knapped flint, herringbone brickwork and timber beams, once inside the low beamed ceilings, collection of pewter tankards, copper implements, brasses, tin advertisements and the suchlike maintain that first impression. The side room to the left on entering is probably the public bar, there is a dartboard in here and a small TV which was switched off on Saturday afternoon. Boarded floor, another fireplace with a stack of board games on the hearth. The other side room is larger and was popular with people eating, the sandwiches looked exceptional, although I didn't get to see a menu. The adjacent conservatory looked to be an eating area too.
Seating matches the pub character with settles, benches and stools, agricultural tools and bridles hang from the ceiling and walls, Toby jugs and books over the bar gantry and I also noticed a display case of old pipes and tobacco tins.
The outside garden on the sloping hillside has good countryside views and of course St Margaret's Well remains with a bit of blurb about it's history on a sign.
This is a splendid ancient pub, certainly worth making every effort to get to, I'm sure I'll endeavour to do so again.
On 1st October 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Well House Inn
An unspoilt 16th century freehouse set in an idyllic and seemingly remote location ,it is hard to believe the busy A217 is less than a mile away.The pub is named after the well in the garden which is mentioned in the doomsday book,and the three room interior retains many original features,low ceilings and a fine collection of pewter tankards and horsebrasses.Each room has it's own character ,a fireplace and seperate access to the central bar.The room to the left of the main side entrance appears more of a public bar and has door access to the lane ,while the central lounge has handpumps showing the full range of real ales,with some pumps double clipped.The room to the right and the conservatory have more dining tables,but is not out of bounds to those only there for a beer.I particularly liked the small single pew chairs either side of the entrance and the woodburner set in a brick inglenook chucking out good heat into the main lounge on an icey lunchtime.
Correctly listed in the 2012 GBG,London Pride,Adnams Southwold Bitter and Surrey Hills Shere Drop (£3.20) are the regular ales with Cottage Brewing Hercules and Dorking Brewery Ruby the guest on my trip .Good to see a commitment to Locale.Food comprises classic pub staples available most sessions except the evenings of Sunday and Monday,and my jacket and tuna was very good and well worth £5.85.Larger mains generally around £9.
There is a pub quiz on Tuesdays and occasional live music,well behaved dogs are allowed in and the local hamlet of Mugswell is served well.The large sloping garden by the well has many benches and looks an exquisite location in good weather.
I am hard pressed to think of a better pub in this part of Surrey and would thoroughly recommend a visit to this charming and friendly pub.
On 9th February 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]