Lost Pubs from the WME Archives: Part 10

One of the few benefits to being in lockdown is that I have more time on my hands with which to plunder the West Midlands Exploration photographic vaults. Most recently, I've clambered aboard my time machine and journeyed back to November 2009, finding this quintet of bygone boozers that were all captured on camera nearly eleven years ago...

- The Red Lion, Handsworth -

First off is this handsome and sadly lamented Soho Road landmark from Handsworth. The Red Lion was designed by the noted pub architects James and Lister Lea who were responsible for several of Birmingham's finest terracotta taverns. Standing near the junction with Boulton Road, the building is said to have an impressive heritage interior but has been disused since 2008 or thereabouts - the last I heard, there had been talk of converting it into a restaurant so we'll wait to see if anything comes of that.

- The Frighted Horse, Handsworth -

Also from the Soho Road comes this former M&B number, the Frighted Horse which used to occupy the corner with Stafford Road (just up from Handsworth Library). Bill posters were much in evidence in 2009, including one advertising a performance by David Essex, and the unit is now home to the JK Collection fashion store. Next door, Babber's Jewellers is still trading as far as I know. 

- The Woodman, Hockley -

Nearby in Hockley we come across another expired M&B establishment, namely the Woodman on Well Street. Rog and I actually went in this one, supping pints of Mild and chatting to the landlord about eBay auctions (as you do). I therefore remember it as a decent backstreet boozer although it has now been restyled into 'Sterling-K House' as the base of a wholesale jewellery company.

- The Station Inn, Horsehay -

To Telford next and a pub that always appealed to me because of its railway connections - Horsehay and Dawley Station is a short distance away having reopened in 1976 as part of the Telford Steam Railway preservation project. Sadly this November 2009 snapshot is the closest I ever came to sampling the Station Inn and it has latterly been converted into a private residence. 

- The Fitters Arms, Walsall -

A fitting finale perhaps (pardon the pun) is the Fitters Arms from Walsall, seen here boarded up awaiting demolition. It was located on Hatherton Street and its name refers to the process of fabricating and assembling mechanical parts, reflecting the type of industry that used to happen in the immediate vicinity. Pub names aren't what they used to be and neither is this corner of Walsall, transformed by the arrival of Jhoots Pharmacy and Walsall Housing Group (whg) office blocks. 

All of the above pictures were taken over the course of the same week and are a reminder of the types of pubs we've lost within relatively recent memory. As lockdown looks set to continue a while longer yet, I may get chance to unearth a few more archive gems but I'll close with the hope that our current pubs are able to survive the coronavirus crisis and be back to serve us when life returns to something approaching normality.