Lost Pubs from the WME Archives: Part 18

In all the chaos of a Covid Christmas, Santa must have forgotten to bring us our regular supply of bygone boozers (he was probably extremely busy with his normal toy and gift deliveries to be fair). My series of archive extracts therefore resumes with some New Year goodies from the West Midlands, Staffordshire and Shropshire...

- The Hop Pole, Oxley Moor Road -

2021's opening assault on the West Midlands Exploration back catalogue begins with the Hop Pole, a sizeable suburban specimen from an area I know very well indeed - Oxley. Many is the time I've used the alleyway beside this building as a shortcut through to Probert Road and the Rakegate estate. Formerly a Mitchells & Butlers roadhouse, it was known for a short period as the Oxley Moor Hotel before ultimately getting converted into a One Stop convenience store. 

- The Buck, Lichfield -

To Lichfield next and an establishment I must confess I'd completely forgotten about! The Buck - historically the Bald Buck - could be found on Greenhill at the crossroads where Birmingham Road and Church Street meet Rotten Row. After spending most of its pub life as a Banks's/Marston's house it briefly turned into a sports bar but would then become a 'Richer Sounds' outlet (retailing in TV and audio-visual equipment) and a Papa John's takeaway. 

- The Anchor, Madeley -

The small Shropshire market town of Madeley is home to several tempting taverns (most notably the All Nations of course) but sadly the Anchor is no longer among their number. It stood on Court Street just up from the Barley Mow but ceased trading circa 2011. The premises subsequently found use as an undertakers base for the C.J. Williams Funeral Service, complete with the addition of a prominent protruding clock. 

- Pear Tree Cottage, Brownhills West -

January's fourth selection takes us to the northernmost extremities of Walsall Borough whereby Brownhills West used to play host to the Pear Tree Cottage Inn. Occupying the junction of Allbutts Road and Hednesford Road, it is seen here as photographed in June 2008 when it had already been shut for some time. Google Street View suggests the site had been cleared by 2012 with the patch remaining empty ever since. 

- Struggling Man, Paradise -

Not so long ago there used to be two Dudley area pubs called the Struggling Man, both of which have sadly expired. One was on Salop Street, Shavers End (which as per the Buck has fallen prey to Papa John's fast food empire) and the other was this Paradise premises that overlooked Buffery Park. It was still soldiering on at the time of this March 2008 picture but within a few years had been flattened to make way for houses. Until next time, cheers!