The Forum was a unique multi-level pub situated in the heart of the Whitgift Centre, serving generations of local residents until it closed its doors towards the end of the 20th century.
Built in the 1960s during a time when Croydon was at the centre of a major building boom, the Whitgift Centre was one of the largest open-air shopping centres in London.
The Forum pub stood out with its unusual blocky shape, earning it the nickname “the UFO” among locals.
Accessed by a travelator from the lowest level of the centre’s shopping area, The Forum embraced a loose Roman theme to match its name, creating an atmosphere unlike most traditional pubs.
Memories of the pub vary among former patrons, with some recalling that the pub closed early, along with the surrounding shops at 6pm, while others fondly remember lively Friday night discos that kept the venue buzzing late into the evening.
The pub’s unique position as both a social and leisure hub made it a popular meeting place for shoppers and residents alike.
In the early 1990s, The Forum was renamed The Merchant in an attempt to refresh its image.
However, this new identity lasted only three short years before the pub closed permanently.
The closure was part of a wider change in shopping habits, as the public began to favour covered, indoor shopping centres over the open-air designs popular in the 1960s.
As a result, The Forum was demolished to make way for the construction of an indoor atrium and a covered shopping area, reflecting a shift in how retail spaces were designed and used.
Almost 40 years after The Forum’s closure, the Whitgift Centre itself faces significant challenges.
Over 50 retail units within the shopping centre now stand empty, highlighting a dramatic decline in footfall and business.
Where once there was a vibrant centre of commerce and social life, locals now describe the Whitgift Centre as a place “dying and a ghost town.”
This stark change reflects broader trends impacting retail and high streets across the UK, as online shopping grows and consumer habits evolve.
The story of The Forum and many other London pubs that have disappeared in recent decades is documented in London’s Lost Pubs (£20, Pen and Sword), a newly released book by author Sam Cullen.
The book brings together the histories of over 200 pubs lost from London’s streets over the past 25 years.
Drawing on decades of pub reviews, guides, and personal memories, Cullen’s work offers a vivid picture of these vanished venues and the communities that once gathered there.
Cullen said: “As much as it’s sad that these pubs don’t exist anymore, I wanted to make sure they are not lost to time by telling their stories, their history, and some of the quirky characters who drank in them. Pubs can tell you so much about social and cultural history. The book is a celebration of pubs that existed as a vehicle for looking at aspects of London life. My criteria for inclusion were that they closed within the past twenty-five years, and there was an interesting story to tell.”
Though The Forum no longer stands, its memory remains alive in the hearts of those who visited it and now in the pages of Cullen’s book, preserving a slice of Croydon’s social history that might otherwise have been forgotten.
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