Breweries from outside the Midlands region are included as, particularly nowadays, beers from other parts of the country are sold across the counters in the Midlands. The section is growing as more images are obtained - not all relevant to the area but, hey, I love beer and it's great fun.

Statto Corner 130 Pages 145,885 Words 190 Pubs Featured 482 Pub Photographs 78 Breweries Featured 51 Brewery Photographs 96 Other Photographs 115 Inn Signs 109 Beer Labels 114 Pumpclips 22 Maps 15 Building Plans

The Barrel Inn, an Amblecote pub now trading as the Moorings Tavern and not, as is commonly thought, anything to do with the Navigation Inn. You can read about this - and every pub in Amblecote - by immersing yourself in a comprehensive page devoted to this former independent Urban District area.

The Waggon and Horses, a rare original building in Adderley Street that was once a Showell's house and seen here in Ind Coope livery. The pub went through a spell as The Cannonball due to the jazz club that was held in the first floor club room.

The Grapes Inn at Chapel en le Frith seen here around 1912 with licensee William Dickens stood on the doorstep with a few of his regular customers, locals who were generally engaged in the cotton trade, working with locally-quarried stone or were employed on the nearby railway. Read also about long-serving Sarah Cresswell who was running this pub well into her eighties.

The  Bowl Turner's Arms, an old beer house on Belgrave Gate that, unlike some forty other pubs on this thoroughfare, has managed to survived into the 21st century. Oh, the name? Well, early publican Thomas Cattell was a "turner of bowls."

The Lime Kiln Inn, as its name suggests, was closed linked with mineral extraction in and around Cropwell Bishop. Indeed, the first publican was a victualler, lime burner and farmer.

The Abingdon Arms in Thame, an ancient inn probably named in honour of the 5th Earl of Abingdon, Montagu Bertie. The pub was formerley called The Chequers and, before that, The Greyhound. It was as the latter that the pub was reputedly the headquarters of Jimmy Figg, who some regard as the first World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

The Plough Inn at Caldecott, a pub that has actually moved location. The licence of the Old Plough was transferred to this building around 1948. The 'new' Plough fronts the main road but is in the corner of the old green where nearby there was the village pump and stocks. Click here to read about other pubs in the village.

The Boat Inn, a pub name that puzzles the modern traveller but a hostelry that had a long tradition of serving boatmen on the now defunct Lichfield Canal. Read how the canal suffered from water level problems from day one until the construction of the reservoir now known as Chasewater.

The Waggon and Horses, a Grade II-listed jewel in Oldbury that was constructed by the Holt Brewery Company replacing the old inn in which the maltster George Thompson, founder of Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries, was born.

The Rev.James is a beer I have enjoyed before but on a recent visit to the King's Arms at Claverley I had one of those pure nectar moments. It was a perfectly served beer in an excellent setting amid a fine session - a set of circumstances that happen only now and then. Both beer and pub are warmly recommended.

Ever wondered what all those strange-sounding ales on the pub's chalkboard are really like? Slowly being constructed to include all the region's brewers, here's a guide to the nutters who climb in  mashtuns with their wellies on. There is a little history on the firms still trading and information on those that disappeared many brew lengths ago. There are tasting notes to the magic potions the current brewers produce so you'll be fully clued up next time you see that grotesquely-titled liquid is down below in the cellar. Click here for your virtual session on the beer.

As I gradually research pubs around the Midlands, I will try to provide details of some of the lost breweries of the region. This section will cover very large brewery concerns through to moderately small businesses but not sole trading retail brewers who are included in the pub's entries. Click here to read about those sadly missed brewers such as Dares's and Simpkiss.

A developing glossary helping to explain some of the technical stuff you may encounter when next looking properly at your local boozer. Come on, how many of you really look above the ground floor windows? Here you can browse through a glossary of marble, terracotta, stained glass, grotesques, corbels, stonework, mosaics, tiled interiors and gallows inn signs. Click here for some aesthetic delights.

Looking for a good old-fashioned drinking pub in the countryside where the emphasis is on the beer not the chips? Well, The Plough at Shenstone could be just the place for you. No music and dog friendly - hooray! But do remember to take a map or get used to asking for directions!

Ever wondered how a pub got its name? This website has zillions of inn sign examples coupled with an attempt to explain their origins from Roman times through to the Steam Age. Read about the location specific signs in the Midlands from the Asbury Tavern and The Old Priory to the Hawne Tavern and The Ten Arches or browse through the omnipresent chestnuts like the Red Lion or Bull's Head. Click here to start your tour - but be warned, once you get interested in signs you'll never be able to drive past a pub in quite the same way again.

A forum for you to post your genealogy questions and answers. Maybe someone out there can shed light on your hunt. I try to answer some of your questions myself on the webpages It's all a bit pot-luck but worth a try. However, I think it's fair to say that the majority of postings have received a bit of help or information. Click here to see how it works.

The latest plan to be published on the site is a design by James and Lister Lea and Sons for the White Swan in Deritend. Click here to see how this pub was put together in the late Victorian era.