When I began my Lost Pubs series back in April 2019 I thought I might have enough material to put together maybe ten or so blogposts, but here we are with episode 14 and there are still a few pictures in the bank to come. This latest quintet includes representatives from Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Birmingham...
- The Old Bush, Pelsall -
The very first entry in this series was a perished pub from Pelsall (the Red Cow) and I now return to the same vicinity to lament the loss of the Old Bush. Handy for the local cricket club, this boozer overlooked the southern tip of Pelsall Common and lent its name to the adjacent Bush Ground, former home of Pelsall Villa FC. Sadly both the pub and the footballing facility were disused the last time I saw them.
- Battle of Britain, Penn -
Next up we venture to suburban Wolverhampton and ponder not one but two terminated taverns over in Penn. The Battle of Britain stood on Birchwood Road immediately next to a little run of shops with a rear wing extending along Sandringham Road. A standard M&B estate affair, it retained its original stanchion sign to the very end - the site was cleared in the spring of 2008 to make way for housing.
- The Fox at Penn -
Our other Penn offering will be a familiar sight to anyone who travels along the A449 with any regularity. The Fox at Penn (historically the Fox & Goose) is still standing as a half-timbered Penn Road landmark but got converted into a restaurant several years ago. Its most recent guise has been as 'Caribba' which specialises in West Indian cuisine.
- Poets Corner, Pensnett -
Our Dudley contender takes us to Pensnett where the Poets Corner used to be at 240 High Street, practically opposite Russells Hall Hospital. I was never tempted to brave this one as it always looked rather grim, although it had been a Banks's number called the Lion for much of its existence. A Tesco Express store and accompanying Greggs outlet now occupy the site.
- Hare of the Dog, Perry Barr -
I bet there were some lively party nights in here as we finish by accounting for a student haunt from Perry Barr. Previously known as the Wellhead Tavern, the Hare of the Dog was an integral part of the UCE/BCU experience due to its Franchise Street location but closed along with the university campus as part of plans to create a Commonwealth Games Athletes Village. Sadly that scheme has subsequently been abandoned due to Covid but I understand the wider regeneration project will still go ahead - cheers!
Battle of Britain looks a classic! Definitely in decline but I wonder if new builds now....with housing estates springing up next to them...will replace these old school boozers??
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures
You could be right Beermat, those Hungry Horse and Marston's edge of town new boozers servicing 21st century housing developments might well become the standard estate boozers of the future - if only there were enough new ones opening to counteract the amount of closures. Strange to think the Battle of Britain has been gone twelve years now, I was only just getting into taking pub pictures back in 2008. Cheers, Paul
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