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This pub seems to have drifted in and out of the single "G" and
double "GG" spelling so to avoid confusion I'll stick to the
traditional double "GG" Waggon and Horses. The building is one of
the oldest surviving public houses in Bordesley. Many of the
neighbouring taverns in this part of Birmingham were completely
rebuilt but the Waggon and Horses is one of the originals.
Remodelled rather than rebuilt, it shares some of the
characteristics of another survivor - the
Spotted Dog
in Meriden Street. Today, for some reason, it is a common
misperception to think of the Waggon and Horses as a Digbeth pub.
However, it has always been a Bordesley location and, historically
therefore, the building was part of Aston and not Birmingham. During
the 19th century the borough of Birmingham took chunks away from
Aston which remained outside the city's jurisdiction. During this
period it was governed by the Aston Manor Local Board. However, it
had become an Urban District by 1903 and was finally absorbed into
Birmingham in 1911. The Waggon and Horses is a slightly later
building than the aforementioned Spotted Dog but this is simply
because it is a little further from the centre of Birmingham. During
the late 18th and early 19th centuries Birmingham gradually “moved
out” during the march of the industrial revolution. It may be hard
to imagine today but this area was completely rural up until this
period. Anglo-Saxon in origin, Deritend is derived from "Der-yet-end",
the end of the town near the deer-gate. Indeed, not too far from the
pub stands one of the old farmhouses. Built in 1601, Stratford House
was the home of Ambrose and Bridget Rotton who farmed an estate of
20 acres on which they kept sheep, oxen, cows and pigs. The estate
remained as a farm until the Victorian age when, in 1838, a railway
was built through the middle of the land. Midland Railway
constructed a goods station on Camp Hill in 1840 - just a few years
after the opening of the Waggon and Horses as a public house. An
early recorded licensee of the Waggon and Horses is John Muddyman, a
coal and corn dealer turned brewer who produced
homebrewed
ales in the pub's back yard. In the 19th century
it was difficult for publicans to make a living solely from sales of
beer and most had a second trade. In this case, the business not
only formed part of the Muddyman family’s income but also provided
the name of the pub. The sign of the Waggon and Horses was fairly
common as they were the principal means of transportation before the
advent of the railways. Many pubs and inns acted as agents and all
manner of goods could be left there where they would either be
forwarded or collected by locals to whom they were addressed. By
1845 a small brewery had been established in Adderley Street and it
is possible that John Muddyman opted to buy in a more consistent ale
for his customers. George Jones, who later moved the business to
Watery Lane owned the Kingston Brewery, which was
founded just along the road from the pub. Ironically,
Watery Lane was the location from which the next
licensee of the Waggon and Horses moved. Builder and brickmaker
Henry Jackaman took over the pub following the death of John
Muddyman. Widow Sarah Muddyman moved along the road to continue
trading as a carter. Born in Bury St Edmunds in 1812, Henry Jackaman
kept the Waggon and Horses with his wife Elizabeth who hailed from
the Kent village of Farningham. The couple employed Sarah Sharp as a
cook and
Walsall-born Fanny Cook as general servant. Sarah
Sharp was also from Farningham - a relative perhaps? It would appear
that
homebrewed
ales were still being sold at the Waggon and
Horses as Henry Jackaman was recorded as a retail brewer in the 1851
census. He and his wife later moved to the
Great Western Inn at nearby
Allcock Street. Subsequent licensees tended to be
listed as publicans or innkeepers, suggesting that brewing on the
premises had ceased. This was the case with Birmingham-born George
North, a man possibly related to James North, a retail brewer based
in
Deritend High Street. The 1861 census records that
45 year-old George North lived here his aunt Jane Woolley, a 56
year-old widow who was born in Minworth. George North also employed
his niece Sophia Gallow as a general servant. She was born in
Harvington, Worcestershire in 1842. George North
later moved to run the
Malt Shovel Inn at
Selly Oak. Clara Mason was the licensee of the
Waggon and Horses in the mid-late 1860's. Along with her maltster
husband James, she had previously kept the neighbouring
Bricklayer's Arms. Following a second marriage,
her husband, former Japanner George Stainton took over the licence.
The couple lived on the premises with her four children Clara,
Florence, William and Nelly. The Stainton's also employed 18
year-old Maria Goodman as a general servant so it was a fair house
full. The family later moved to a large property on Moseley Road
from which George Stainton worked as a photographic artist. The
Waggon and Horses became a relatively early target for the emerging
large brewery concerns and in the 1870’s Showell's Brewery moved in
to secure the pub for themselves. Beating local rivals like
Ansell's
and the
Holt Brewery
to the Waggon and Horses represented something of a scoop for
Showell's. They were based at the Crosswells Brewery at
Langley near
Oldbury. The company also had a brewery at
Stockport and also operated some pubs in London though these were
later sold to Reffell’s Bexley Brewery Ltd. Showell's initiated
improvements to the newly-acquired Waggon and Horses and, in
September 1878, the brewery commissioned William Jenkins, an
architect and surveyor based at 34 Bennett's Hill to draw up plans
to improve the existing building. Birmingham-based breweries such as
Ansell's
had already committed themselves to rebuilding many of their pubs
but thankfully Showell's opted to retain the old Waggon and Horses.
William Jenkins worked quickly and the plans were approved by
William Hill, Borough Surveyor on October 25th 1878. The proposals
included the restructuring of the floor space, the installation of
larger windows, the creation of a rear smoke room and an outdoor
department. This jug counter was accessed by its own door and was a
key part of the pub’s business. The men working the furnaces in
local factories would send a "runner" to the pub to fetch essential
liquid refreshment. The yard was also adapted to incorporate a
"new-fangled" pub addition - the toilet. The original
"before-and-after" designs help to identify the key changes to the
building [click on plan to left to view enlargement]. James Beard was the licensed victualler in charge of the
Waggon and Horses for much of the 1880's. Born in the
Worcestershire village of Peopleton in 1847, he
kept the pub with his wife Emma. Four years younger, she hailed from
the carpet-making town of
Kidderminster. By the time of the 1891 census 34
year-old licensed victualler John Hunt was the licensee. The son of
a lock maker lived here with his Birmingham-born wife Georgina, 29,
and their 4 year-old daughter Theresa. The couple employed 16
year-old Alice Butlin as a general servant. Enjoying inn status, the
pub had a visitor on the night of the survey. George Edmunds, a
metal roller, was possibly helping to impart his skills at a nearby
firm. The Hunt family later moved to the
Royal Mint on
Icknield Street, another pub operated by Showell's
so perhaps the move was an internal decision within the company. The
Langley-based brewery installed 51 year-old Henry
McCann as manager just before the 1901 census. He was born in
Bermondsey, London but had moved to Birmingham when his father found
employment in the Jewellery Quarter. He kept the Waggon and Horses
with his wife Brummie-born wife Elizabeth. The couple lived here
with their eight children - Florence, Louis, Alice, Dorothy,
Frederick, Sidney, Lily and George. Herbert Pickering was the
incumbent detailed in a 1912 rate book for Adderley Street in which
the pub was listed as a licensed public house with shopping and
stables. The ground rent on the property was £87.0s.0d. per annum.
The rates of £11.17s.3d were paid in full. Samuel Allsopp Ltd. of
Burton-on-Trent acquired Showell's Brewery and its
estate of 194 tied houses in 1914. This brought the Waggon and
Horses under the ownership of a truly historic brewery. However, the
company, founded in the 1740’s, went through a difficult period
before merging with Ind Coope in June 1934. The pub can be seen in
this company's livery in the 1967 photograph above. The Waggon and
Horses was subject to a discussion in a board meeting held at
London’s Victoria House and chaired by Lt.Col.Kingsmill DSO OBE MC
on Thursday December 3rd 1953. Michael Sperling reported that “a
further review of the uneconomic houses in Birmingham had been made
and that the pub had been placed before the Committee of Management
of Ind Coope & Allsopp Ltd. with a view to disposal”. Trade was
reported to be two converted barrels per week and the “property was
in an area where on account of redevelopment proposals and other
changes in the character of the locality, the trade was declining
rapidly”. The board resolved to “authorise the sale of this
uneconomic property at a price to be approved”. The pub was also
discussed in 1954. However, on this occasion it was to agree a lease
on an adjoining petrol station, on land that the brewery also owned.
Somerset House Garage [Birmingham] Ltd. leased the property from Ind
Coope on a five-year lease expiring on the 25th December 1959 at a
rent of £175 per annum. This was renewed but at the higher rent of
£200 per annum. Ind Coope did not sell the Waggon and Horses but a
solution was found in 1961. In that year
Ansell's
merged with Ind Coope & Allsopp and Tetley Walker to form Allied
Breweries in 1961. The pub was quickly changed to sell the local
brew and the fortunes of the Waggon and Horses were reversed. Many
of the old factories closed and much of the housing cleared but the
pub remained a popular haunt of the nearby bus garage.
Ansell's
brewery was closed in 1981 and their range of beer's brewed at
Burton-on-Trent, became a subsidiary of the
Carlsberg Tetley Group. In another industry shake-up, the Waggon and
Horses was sold in 1986 to Robert and Theresa MacKay who used the
first floor function room as a jazz club. Being located in Adderley
Street, changing the name of the pub to The Cannonball proved
irresistible. A member of the Miles Davis Quintet in the late
1950’s, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley was one of the great
saxophonists of his generation. The Cannonball enjoyed early success
but suffered as a result of Ronnie Scott's opening in
Broad Street. The MacKay's sold the pub to June
and James Nye who restored the old Waggon and Horses name. Barbara
and Derek Rivitt took over as custodians of one of Birmingham’s
truly old pubs on June 29th 2001.
© Copyright. Image supplied by
Digital Photographic Images. |
