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	Picture source: Ben Crosland
The Spur was situated on Queens Road. This Watneys pub was demolished in the 1990s and replaced by flats.
I was brought up in this road and the Spur was a large pub for its location.  It apparently got its name from being near to a spur of the railway which was next to it.  In actual fact the railway was the main line to Waterloo from the south west and not a spur.  The pub was always very busy and had a large hall at the rear where on weekends people would pack in to sing along with the band or pianist.  I have a memory from 1953 when Elsie & Joe Levy the landlords ran the street party.  Elsie ruled with a rod of iron and stood no nonsense with her booming voice.  Joe a serious Gin drinker became more addicted to the booze as he got older.  When we got a pint from Joe it was best to order a light and bitter so that we got all of the pint and not have it slopped all over the counter.  They both retired c1972. As with all older pubs then there was an outside toilet which was used by the bus conductors & drivers as they changed routes from the No 9 route to Mortlake Garage to No 37 route at the top of Queens Road.
Source: Chris Forester
This was the pub that my dad Alan Wyatt and grandad Alf Wyatt frequented as they lived in North Worple Way. I am absolutely stunned to hear the same story almost word for word that my dad had told me many times himself before. My dad loved this place, I can still remember the sad look on his face as we drove down Queens Road to find a block of flats where once stood his beloved pub.
Les Wyatt (February 2020)
According to R.G. Graham, the third secretary of The Football Association, writing in the Badminton Magazine, this pub was owned by John Johnstone who lived in Castlenau House and who owned the Limes Field, on which was later built First and Second Avenues in Mortlake. Barnes Foot-Ball Club played their matches on the Limes Field at the time The Football Association was formed in 1863 and continued to do so until the land was sold for development. The football teams were entertained at this pub on the corner of Queens Road and South Worple Way after their matches but from 1869 at the latest the pub was referred to as The Pretender. John Johnstone owned a race horse called The Pretender which, as a three-year-old in 1869 won the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and The Derby at Epsom. Johnstone's crest was a spur so I would like to suggest perhaps that the pub in the 1860s, following an equine theme, took on the name of the Spur and then Pretender in 1869, and in later years adopted the sign of a railway spur which used to exist nearby.
David King (November 2020)
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Other Photos
!970s Spur keyring	Picture source: Les Wyatt