Ship Of Fools, CR0 2RE
- 9-11 London Road
The Ship of Fools was a Wetherspoons pub in Croydon. It has now closed. The last day of trading was 9 June 2013.
Wetherspoons sold the remainder of their lease to Sainsbury's, and the building reopened at the end of August 2013 as a Sainsbury's Local photo. See London Road History article for more information (and for info on the history of the building).
The information below is retained for historical purposes.
Note: As of early 2013, the Ship of Fools is due to be turned into a Sainsbury's Local. The Croydon CAMRA mailing list reports that the last day of trading will be either 8 June or 9 June.
It's a typical Wetherspoons shop conversion — low ceiling, little natural light. (There is however a little unexpected pocket of natural light at the very back, where three windows look onto the backs of other buildings.) A dais opposite the bar includes sofa seating, and there are a few booths at the back.
Kake has now visited several times. On a Wednesday evening in September 2011, there were a number of interesting guest ales on, all at £1.75/pint, including Dark Star Saison and Hepworth Pullman. They generally have a couple of real ciders (mostly Westons) and perries too. In February 2012, a pint of lime and soda was 80p. On all our visits, no music was playing but there was a nice low buzz of conversation. Service has generally been very friendly and helpful.
Free wireless is supplied via The Cloud.
Accessibility: No step to get in, to the bar, to most of the seating, and to the RADAR-locked accessible toilet. Some of the seating is on a dais, and a few of the tables at ground level are high ones, though most are normal-height. The other toilets are in the basement, down a straight wide stairwell with sturdy handrails on both sides. It's worth noting that the accessible toilet is right at the back, behind a little wall, and not immediately apparent unless you know where it is.
See also: