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Picture source: Stephen Harris

The Carpenters Arms was situated at 1 Bowling Green Street. In its latter years, this one-time Charrington’s Brewery pub was renamed the Elephant & Hippo, before closing in 2009.

My grandmother Alice Jackman was the Licencee of the ‘Carpenter Arms’ in the early 1950’s. I often visited as a youngster and remember the cellar and a hoist that brought food down from the kitchen to customers in the lengthy bar. The was an off licence cubicle which satisfied some customers. The dark oak panelling within the domestic area was very heavy in appearance. Apparently the railings around the nearby flats were cut off during the war and used as stretchers to carry victims from the bombed high street in Kennington. As a boy I remember learning to ride my bicycle up and down Bowling Green Street. I was also priviledged to be one of the boys throwing a cricket ball around the Oval for Colin Bland the South African fielder of some re-known, to pounce on and throw at a single wicket, hitting it most times!

Roger Clarke (September 2023)

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