After another period of lockdown the Horse and Groom is re-opening on May 19th.

Chobham used to have 4 pubs in the short High Street, the Sun and the White Hart that are still operating but the Old Kings Head closed in the 1950’s and the Horse & Groom closed in 1960. The Old Kings Head was demolished despite being listed and is now a hairdressers and a café. The Horse & Groom became various different thins including a bank and coincidentally a hairdressers.

In 2019 local couple, Rob and Andrea Belcher, decided to reopen the Horse and Groom as a micro pub. The premises are about half of the original pub as the Estate Agents next door occupy the other half. The Covid-19 pandemic pushed back the opening to July 15th 2020.

On arriving you need to check the railway style signal outside, green means that there is space and you can enter, red means that you will have to wait for someone to leave as the pub is only licenced for 30 people although this can be reduced due to Covid-19 restrictions. The pub is a quiet pub with just the hum of conversation either in the bar area or the small courtyard area.

3 handpumps sit on the bar, 2 dispensing Real Ales and 1 dispensing Cider. 4 keg taps on the wall dispense 3 craft keg beers along with a lager. Rob sources the Real Ales and Ciders from local breweries with the emphasis on Surrey however other local breweries are used. Thurstons, Surrey Hills, Tillingbourne, Hepworth, Thames Side, Crafty, Loddon, Mad Squirrel, Ascot, Windsor & Eton and Tilford Brewery’s beers have already been seen. All beers are currently priced at £4/pint. Cider currently comes from Berkshire’s Tutt’s Clump. 2 pint take away containers are available for those who want to take some beer home with them. Rob is currently installing a “Micro Bottle Shop” which will have a range of bottled beers.

Opening hours are not traditional, Monday closed, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 12-7pm, Friday and Saturday 12-9pm and Sunday 12-5pm. The closing times can be flexible depending on demand. Payment is either by cash or card. If you haven’t managed to check out this new addition to the local pubs I suggest you get along and try it, I recommend it!