There are myriad factors influencing why a pub may close its doors for good. Changing societal drinking habits, local demographic shifts, greedy developers wanting land or property for other uses, the cost of living crisis, nearby competition, retirement of long-term tenants, the list could go on and on. Some of these reasons - and probably more besides - might apply to this quintet of bygone boozers, all of which in relatively recent memory used to call Birmingham their home...
- King Edward VII -
One possible cause I didn't mention in the preamble there is road widening, for that's what ultimately precipitated the demise of the King Edward VII in Aston. Perched on the corner of Lichfield Road and Aston Hall Road, this was a highly distinctive local landmark so the fact it was sacrificed to make space for a wider carriageway and boring industrial units is a bone of contention. Mr D9 and I called by in February 2013 having heard that demolition was on the cards, and by 2015 the pub was lamentably gone forever.
- The Bromford -
By contrast, I never had the pleasure (or should I say experience) of drinking in the Bromford, a tavern that would have been a familiar sight for regular passengers on the Outer Circle bus route between Washwood Heath and Hodge Hill. A building of some architectural merit, it nevertheless was consigned to history and a fire in September 2014 wouldn't have helped. Following demolition in 2015, the site has become a base for the Heart of Birmingham Vocational College complete with a Community Hub facility.
- The Gunmakers Arms -
Not to be confused with its namesake in the Gun Quarter (which at time of writing is happily still trading), the Gunmakers Arms in Lozells is our third Brummie victim for this post. Small but inviting, it carried some Banks's branding at the time of this wintry 2013 picture, and I've fond memories of a Hub Marketing visit in October 2015 when it had a throwback vibe that likely hadn't changed much since the 1970s. It was up for sale at that juncture and the premises would subsequently lie empty and boarded up for several years - such a shame!
- The Midland Tavern -
And now for a Duddeston diversion. Erskine Street was the highly unpromising setting for the Midland Tavern, nestled close to a railway line and seemingly surrounded by small workshops and pallet storage yards. It looked in a bad way - especially the roof - in my picture although remarkably was repaired to become a Shisha Lounge for a period. HS2 developments have now claimed much of this end of the street, all part of the march of progress.
- The Stonehouse -
Let's conclude matters over in California shall we? No not that one - the WME budget doesn't stretch to daytrips in Los Angeles or San Francisco - but rather that little pocket of Brum which lingers between Weoley Castle and Woodgate Valley. The district was actually named after a pub, the California Inn which stood in the vicinity of Barnes Hill and Alwold Road, but this post is more concerned with the Stonehouse (formerly of Stonehouse Lane). An impressively large roadhouse, it was demolished circa 2014 with housing now occupying the site.
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