Penge's Pawleyne Arms defends Pride flag after abuse

The Pawleyne Arms have reportedly had multiple people request at the bar for the Pride flag to be taken down along with messages of abuse from certain crowds

Located at 156 High Street in Penge, the pub is currently under new management which has lead to a bit of culture change, with previous landlords proudly displaying EDL flags in the past.

In the passionate statement on Facebook, the new manager, Dave King, said the "old" Pawleyne Arms "was a very different place than the one it is from today."

The Pawleyne Arms Facebook

"The Pawleyne Arms isn't a LGTB pub and will not become an LGBT pub. We do however have one Pride flag on display behind our bar," said the Pawleyne Arms in the post.

"The response to this has been truly shocking and very hurtful to me personally as a human being.

"HOWEVER I assure you that the flag comes down on the day I leave and not one second before."

The post finished off with a plea for help, for residents to come and enjoy the inclusive Penge pub.

The long-standing public house has only been under new management since June, and the new manager has so far overseen a refurbishment of the building and a more inclusive redecoration behind the bar.

The Pawleyne Arms' beer garden

And since the post was made, it has received overwhelmingly positive responses from the local community, including hundreds of retweets and shares.

Ellie Reeves, the MP for Lewisham West and Penge has added her support to the establishment's Pride stand, whilst the Penge Tourist Board have shared the post widely.

The MP announced she would be making an "inclusive" visit to the Pawleyne Arms between 5:30pm and 6pm on Wednesday, August 4, to show her support and have her photo taken with the Pride flag behind the bar.

In a post, the manager Dave King said they'd "like to thank everyone on our page for the massive amount of love we've been seeing from the local community on this upsetting issue.

"We'd especially like to thank the Penge Tourist Board for truly getting the ball rolling on this long over due update to the Pawleyne Arms."

The Penge pub only just reopened following a major refurbishment, and those running the social media pages said the ideas wasn't "to be exclusive, and we refuse to raise our prices. The idea is to be more inclusive to all of Penge!"

The pub is a Craft Union pub, and the manger said they were "just that, a pub, the local, a boozer, west-lead local."

"So if you're after a reasonably priced pint, a packet of crisps and a game of pool, all whilst listening to the free Jukebox and watching some sport, then we're the smart choice."