How very neglectful of me to deprive you of any archive raids for the last few months. My defence - and I'm sticking to it!! - is that I've been doing my utmost to support our surviving pubs during these tough financial times, but I have now belatedly unearthed five more pictures of bygone boozers from the West Midlands region...
- The Prince Albert -
You may remember that March's Wintry West Bromwich outing had Mr D9 and myself paying homage to the expired establishments of Moor Street and Bromford Lane. One such was the Prince Albert, a standalone offering that was dwarfed by the Bowater House tower block next door. The flats are still there but the pub is long gone, swept away as part of redevelopment plans that resulted in the creation of the town's new leisure centre. A namesake Prince Albert on nearby Sams Lane continues to trade at time of writing and is popular with Baggies fans.
- The Racecourse -
Prior to the Bromford Bridge estate coming into existence during the mid-to-late 1960s, the land on which it was built had been home to Birmingham Racecourse - a fact referenced in the name of a flat-roofed boozer that would go on to serve the subsequent housing sprawl. Perched at the far end of Bromford Drive (close to what was the number 26 bus terminus), the Racecourse gained a certain notoriety for anti-social behaviour and hit the headlines due to a cannabis raid. The premises is now used as the Ibrahim Noor community banqueting suite.
- The Bell -
The county of Shropshire seems to have more than its fair share of timewarp taverns and they didn't come much more unspoiled than the Bell at Cleobury Mortimer, a Banks's bastion that proved most beguiling indeed when Rog and I sampled it in early 2011. Back then it was like entering someone's front room, mustily furnished with Express & Star beermats and a highly polished collection of sporting trophies. WhatPub suggests that it ceased trading circa 2019 and the Grade II-listed property is likely to become purely residential - a sad loss.
- The Gate -
If the Bell had barely changed for what seems like decades, the same could also be said of the Gate at Colley Gate near Halesowen. A long-time landmark on the number 9 bus route, this most basic of ex-Hanson's hostelries occupied the junction with Maple Tree Lane directly opposite the Wilson Hall (Cradley Labour Club). A Hub Marketing sampling in June 2012 saw Mr D9 and I soaking up the rudimentary charms of an old-fashioned L-shaped bar; sadly the former bowling green to the rear has been built over with houses and the future for the main pub building seems far from certain.
- The Colwyn -
Our quintet is capped off with an item from inner-city Birmingham where the Colwyn was tucked away on Great Colmore Street, in that triangular portion of town between Holloway Head and Bristol Street. Looking very much to be of the 1960s box-type variety, it never hugely appealed to me and shut down a good few years ago. Google Maps indicates it subsequently became a Community Church and Outreach Centre so that's that!
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