PubsAndBeer.co.uk - The Crown Inn, Old Oxted, Surrey

PubsandBeer

The Crown Inn (Free House)

Beer (sort)	Average Score (sort)	No. Samples (sort)
Titsey - Gresham Hopper (was 3.7%)		1

Visits Details

11 Apr 2026 (Hogan Sampling)

5th stop of the outing to Oxted and its environs: Not overly busy for my late afternoon arrival and to meet up with a fellow real ale enthusiast from south-east London but for one large group who rose up from their seats to the bar to replenish their glasses as I arrived. Rather than wait at the bar, I took this opportunity to have a good look around this upstairs pub full of interesting old framed photographs whilst they were all served. Thankfully the pub has escaped a modern interior makeover which lends it an extra olde-worlde charm. The upstairs low ceilinged bar area consists of original dark wood beams befitting a Tudor-era coaching inn and is complemented by a large traditional fireplace. The inn was originally a staging post for coaches travelling between London and the South Coast. A welcome taster confirmed the one and only beer was in good nick.

Beer	ABV	Score	Notes
Titsey - Gresham Hopper (was 3.7%)	3.40		Very good head and lacing and lasting all the way on this hoppy pale ale from Clarks Lane Farm in Tatsfield, north-east of Oxted, and named after Sir Thomas Gresham, a 16th-century merchant associated with the Titsey Estate who used the grasshopper as his crest. A hoppy first hit. A resinous fruitiness climbing up with hints of citrus and pine from its citrusy hops lending it a pronounced bitterness alongside tropical fruits achieved from its "New World" style late-hopping techniques deployed. A hoppy sweetness winning over with subtle sherbet flavours caressing my taste buds. A fruited hoppiness playing out and aided on its final flow downwards by being brewed using water from the brewery's own borehole located on the North Downs. Very refreshing indeed and another half followed the first and both served in top form.

About The Crown Inn

Summary of Beer Scores

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Website.

The pub is found in Old Oxted, Surrey, RH8 9LN.

Dating from the 17th century, this former coaching inn at 53 High Street, Old Oxted, was extended in the 1800s when it also incorporated an old brewery. Now Grade-II listed, there are bars on two levels, the lower one being more traditional and containing a log fire. This was closed on our April 2026 Saturday visit. I was told by a staff member it was only open downstairs on Thursdays and Fridays currently. Peering through the windows downstairs, it appeared there were two cask on and yet upstairs, the open part of the pub on this visit, there was only the one cask on. The pub is said to get its name from being on the crown of a hill and indeed Old Oxted does undulate as you walk up its old High Street. Given the pub’s age, it has a number of attractive features including differently shaped windows and wooden panelling dating to more recent Victorian times. Home-cooked food is served and indeed a homemade pie was served with all the vegetable trimmings on our visit but not for my tasting sadly although I was nearly tempted. Outside is a rear garden with a children's play area. According to local CAMRA, the three guest beers come from the local breweries. On our visit there was Titsey’s Gresham Hopper and served in fine form. Lots of old photographs of Old Oxted adorn the wooden panelled walls and there were a couple of glass-fronted display cabinets full of old books, medicine bottles and an old coffee tin I spotted. The two bars by all accounts operate different hours independently of each other but the whole establishment is run by Old Crown Inn Limited, a private limited company. Certainly, a living museum it was from a bygone age!

We have visited this pub once, seen 1 beer and tried it.

Map location

Postcode: RH8 9LN