An imposing green-tiled Victorian corner pub on the site since 1866, named for the 1854 Battle of the Alma, with sumptuous painted mirrors, a fine restaurant and 23 rooms
The Alma holds sixteen hundred and forty-two reviews and an excellent 4.6 – a genuinely superb score on a very large sample – and it is a genuine Victorian treasure: an imposing green-tiled corner pub opposite Wandsworth Town station, on the site since 1866, named for the 1854 Battle of the Alma, with sumptuous painted mirrors, a fine restaurant, and 23 boutique rooms.
The Crimean War name
The Alma carries a genuinely historic name, rooted in a famous battle. It commemorates the Battle of the Alma (1854) – the first major battle of the Crimean War, a British and French victory over Russia – and it has stood on this Old York Road site since 1866, built shortly after the battle. Wonderfully, the name is writ large in the parapet, and can be seen from the platforms of Wandsworth Town station right opposite (a lovely early piece of pub advertising). There is genuine history here – the Crimean War namesake, the 1866 origins, the grand name in the parapet. It is a genuinely historic and imposing pub – the Victorian corner landmark, the famous battle name, the proud old presence opposite the station. There is real history and character to it – the 1854 Battle of the Alma namesake, the 1866 building, the grand parapet name.
The Victorian splendour
The Alma is a genuine architectural treasure – one of Wandsworth’s finest Victorian pubs, listed on CAMRA’s London Regional Inventory for its interior of special historic interest. Its striking green-tiled exterior (vivid green tiling of around 1900) animates the modest street, and inside are genuine gems: a series of sumptuous back-painted mirrors from around 1900, depicting flowers, foliage and birds (mainly herons considering their next meal), which dominate the main bar and even line the staircase; coloured mosaic roundels bearing the pub’s name (an unusual and rare feature); high-quality woodwork; and a deep, highly-decorative frieze in the former billiard room (now the restaurant). There is genuine and rare heritage here – the striking green-tiled exterior, the sumptuous c.1900 painted heron mirrors, the rare mosaic roundels, the decorative frieze. It is a genuine Victorian treasure – the green tiling, the painted mirrors, the mosaics, the whole sumptuous decorative scheme. There is real architectural splendour to it.
The dining pub with rooms
Today the Alma is a genuinely superb Young’s dining pub – beautifully renovated and reborn as a pub with 23 boutique rooms. It is a genuine all-rounder: an iconic Victorian pub with an award-winning restaurant (a Top 50 Gastropub, renowned for fine cuisine – standout dishes like Dingley Dell pork belly and whole-roasted lemon sole), a boutique hotel (23 beautifully-refurbished bedrooms with Bramley toiletries, honesty bars and Nespresso machines), a genuine Young’s beer selection (own-brand brews plus guest ales from Sambrook’s and Twickenham), and one of Wandsworth’s best sports atmospheres (renowned for its electric rugby match days). There is genuine quality to it – the award-winning restaurant, the boutique rooms, the good Young’s beer, the electric sports atmosphere, the famous Sunday roasts. Combined with its Victorian splendour and its historic name, it makes the Alma a genuine Wandsworth treasure. Its excellent 4.6 across a very large sample confirms it – a genuinely superb, much-loved pub. There is real history, splendour and quality in the whole thing.
Between its 1854 Battle-of-the-Alma name and 1866 origins, its sumptuous green-tiled-and-painted-mirror Victorian splendour, and its award-winning restaurant, boutique rooms and electric atmosphere, the Alma is a genuine treasure of Wandsworth. Its excellent score across a very large sample marks it as a genuinely superb and much-loved pub. The Prat’s desk enjoys a Young’s ale beneath the sumptuous heron mirrors, admires the green-tiled splendour, and raises an appreciative glass to the Alma.
The pub
An excellent, much-loved pub doing a superb 4.6 across a very large sample – the Alma, a green-tiled Victorian Young’s corner pub (on the site since 1866) with sumptuous painted mirrors, a fine restaurant and 23 rooms.
Verdict
Excellent, much-loved, and a genuine Victorian treasure – the Alma, a green-tiled Young’s pub with sumptuous painted mirrors, an award-winning restaurant and boutique rooms.
Enjoy a Young’s ale beneath the sumptuous heron mirrors at the Alma opposite Wandsworth Town station – a green-tiled Victorian pub since 1866, named for the Battle of the Alma, with a fine restaurant and rooms.
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: [email protected]
In British comedy, the prat is the character who provides the laughter by being completely, utterly, and magnificently wrong about everything.