The Cricketers Arms

The Cricketers Arms sits in the quiet backwater which is Carlton Place in Southampton and rubs shoulders with adjoining regency style properties.  The adjacent Carlton Crescent conservation area is known for its fine rows of Regency houses - once the private residences of businessmen, army and navy officers, but converted to offices for solicitors and the like during the 20th century, and now all Grade II listed.

The Cricketers Arms next to posh regency neighbours.

Records indicate that The Cricketers Arms was around as a public house/beer house as far back as 1861.  I couldn’t find out if has always had the same name - but I couldn’t spot any others on a brief search of the internet.  Perhaps the name comes from the fact that it was not far away from the Hampshire County Cricket ground which was in nearby Northlands Road from 1885 until the new Rose Bowl ground took over in 2001 (the Rose Bowl is now the Ageas Bowl thanks to the wonders of modern sponsorship).

The sound of leather on willow, appeals for lbw or the cheers from the crowd as Phil Mead (County Cricket's most prolific run scorer) knocked another century, could probably be heard at the pub.

However there isn't any internal indications of a cricket theme, but there is a famous Southampton FC  photograph of Peter Rodriguez, Mick Shannon et al with their 1976 FA cup (Life After Football will fill in the other names).

Past cup glory...

The pub is a free house and retains the atmosphere of a nice old fashioned town pub, floor boards, lots of wood trim and cream walls.  It also has a beautiful dark wood U-shaped bar with the single room wrapping around it.

It was quiet as you would expect mid-Thursday afternoon with just a handful of customers here and there.  They were joined by a couple of business suits after a while - probably local solicitors finishing early for the day.

Traditional pub atmosphere...

There were 5 hand pumps serving cask ale with a wide choice of breweries...

Your five a day...

As a test for the lady behind the bar we asked where the Animal Armadillo beer came from*.  She wasn’t sure - but possibly somewhere west of Southampton.  Not inspired by such vagueness we opted for the Red Cat Brewing Co.  Art of T, which we know comes from Winchester.  It was very good too, a fine concoction of malt, Earl Grey tea and Tettnang hops - possibly something for teetotallers to consider.

A paw print and fine lacings - the Art of T from Red Cat Brewing

The lady behind the bar (just visible above the pint in the above photo), who I think might have been co-bar manager Kat, chatted to us and explained that the pub is a favourite haunt of performers from the nearby Mayflower Theatre, and they often turn up for a drink after their evening performance.  Kat was particularly excited to find one day that the cast of Wicked, had turned up.  She explained she could hardly contain herself as this is her favourite show, but was thrilled when the cast invited her to watch a performance from the orchestra pit.  She said this was great fun - though it sounded like a recipe for neck ache to me...

Unfortunately despite her obvious enthusiasm for the theatre and pub going performers, she also failed our second test when she couldn’t tell us anything about the photo on the pub wall (below)...

Cast call in for a well earned pint after a successful production of 'War Horse' at The Mayflower Theatre (possibly)...

So - a great little pub and one for the itinerary on the Beer and Pubs Forum's much anticipated, but yet to be arranged, Proper Day Out in Southampton.

...and while we wait for Life After Football to provide the names of the full FA Cup winning Southampton FC team, here’s another fantastic photo showing the teams tour of Southampton on their open top double decker bus (probably sponsored by Dentyne chewing gum)...

Famous scene yet to be replicated in Southampton...

*Animal cask beers are of course brewed by XT Brewing Co. of Buckinghamshire, which is not 'west of Southampton'...

...Animal beers are special beers brewed by little creatures, according to XT’s website, so a brewery tour should be interesting...

‘Late at night the little creatures sneak into the brewery and make special beers...they make them once and get bored...then move onto a new idea...'