This photograph actually shows the junction of two roads - Lichfield Road and Park Road, the latter is on the left whilst Lichfield Road bends away to the right in a north-easterly direction from Aston Cross. So whilst the photographer was just about stood in Aston Road North, the image actually shows the view away from the thoroughfare. Featuring the famous clock tower, this triangle was at the end of road; the thoroughfare connected this triangular junction with Gosta Green from where the road continued out of the city from Aston Street. Halfway along there was another triangle called Aston Place where Miller Street, Aston Brook Street and Hubert Street converged. As can be seen from the long list of pubs that once stood in both Aston Road and Aston Road North, this was an important arterial route into and out of Birmingham. Aston Place acted as the divide between Aston Road and Aston Road North. The clock tower seen in this photograph was a replacement for one of Aston's lost buildings that was designed to echo the architecture of Aston Hall. Erected on a site once known as Catchem's End, the ornate brick tower was erected in 1854 but, following an inspection in which it was deemed to be unsafe, it was replaced by this clock in 1891. It was designed with a Romanesque emphasis by Arthur Edwards and cast in Glasgow. The completed clock was given to the Aston Local Board by the Northamptonshire-born draper Lewis Spokes Richards. The most famous resident of Aston Road North was Arthur Conan Doyle. The Scottish-born creator of Sherlock Holmes lived at No.63 Aston Road North, located between Avenue  Road and Holland Road, close to the Lion Brewery. The period in which the author lived here was roughly between 1879 to 1882, a time when he intermittently worked as a dispensing assistant for Dr Reginald Hoare whilst studying at Edinburgh University. Indeed, No.63 was the home of the Hoare family. Conan Doyle later wrote that "Hoare was a fine fellow, stout, square, red-faced bushy - whiskered and dark-eyed. His wife was also a very kindly and gifted woman, and my position in the house was soon rather that of a son than of an assistant." One can only speculate whether the write frequented any of the local taverns during his visits to Aston. However, we do know that he landed himself in a spot of bother with the local law enforcement. He was cautioned by Aston Police when, as a practical joke, he sent fake invitations to a Mayor's Ball.
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Located on Aston Road North on the north corner of Whitehouse Street, the Albion Inn was spared the carnage of the bulldozers clearing land for the Aston Expressway. When this photograph was taken in June 2009 the pub was trading as The Albion at Aston. During much of its life the property was known as the Albion Inn. However, as can be seen on the tavern check to the left, the pub was also known as the Albion Hotel. The word Albion is a poetic name for Great Britain and is thought to derive from the Latin 'Albus' or 'White.' This Roman term arose from the whiteness of the cliffs on Britain's southern coast and was almost certainly applied during the invasion and conquest of AD43. This is the scene usually depicted by inn sign artists, generally with a roman vessel heading towards the coast of Britain. The term Albion is famously remembered in the phrase 'perfidious Albion', which came into common use during the Napoleonic Wars though was first recorded in a poem of 1793 by Augustin, Marquis of Ximenez. In this work, it recommends attacking perfidious Albion at sea. But back to tavern checks... licensee Valentine Watkins issued tokens to the value of 2½d and 3d. A later tavern check for the value of 3d has also been recorded with the name of Albion Inn and Ansell's Brewery on each side. Val Watkins was a man with pubs in his blood. His mother once kept the Reservoir Tavern on the Lichfield Road and also the Britannia in Pigott Street. Val Watkins and his wife Millicent once managed the prestigious St Martin's Hotel in Jamaica Row. West Bromwich-born William Hodgkins was an early publican of the Albion Inn. He and his wife Elizabeth were running the Queen's Head in Dartmouth Street during the late 1850's. George Hands was the licensee in the early 1890's. He kept the Albion Hotel with his wife Lucy. The son of a provision merchant, George Hands had grown up in Primrose Place at Nechells before the family moved to Dale End next to the Golden Cross. As a young man he worked in the family business along with his brother William. Surrounded by some of Birmingham's notorious taverns, George possibly developed a taste for the trade. He married Lucy Cotterill in 1889 and the couple took over the Albion Hotel shortly afterwards. Robert Anderson, the Irish-born professional footballer, was a boarder at the pub in the early 1890's. This was not long after the formation of the football league and a time when players were commanding a fee. The tavern check confirms that the Albion Inn was once operated by Ansell's. In the 1970's the Albion Inn formed part of the Courage estate before falling into the portfolio of Grand Metropolitan. Other more recent pubco's to operate the Albion have been Inntepreneur and Unique.
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This beer house was located in Aston Road North and, as its name suggests, was part of Aston Manor. Aston was recorded in the Domesday Book where it appeared as Estone and was five times the size of Birmingham and rated at five times the value. It was a large Warwickshire parish which covered some 10,000 acres and embraced the now-separate districts of Castle Bromwich, Duddeston, Nechells, Deritend and Bordesley. By 1550 Aston had become known as Aston-juxta-Birmingham. During the 19th century the borough of Birmingham slowly 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 Domesday survey reveals that Estone had a priest, a mill, woodland and ploughland. The fact that the manor had a priest tells us that a Saxon church existed here. This was replaced in medieval times by the Church of Saint Peter and Paul. The Aston Manor Mews was located between the General Havelock and The Star, both fully licensed premises. This beer house may have a link with the Lion Brewery because living next to the Aston Manor Mews was the hop and corn merchant, William Thomas Rushton, son of the founder of the company that grew into one of the more important Aston breweries and eventually absorbed by Ansell's in 1923. The Aston Manor Mews was certainly established by 1854 and was run by Atherstone-born cab proprietor John Clamp and his wife Ellen who hailed from Stourbridge. The couple kept the beer house until around 1869 when they were succeeded by Henry and Mary Bawn. The Clamp family moved a few doors away from where John continued to operate his cab business. George Darlington was the licensee of the Aston Manor Mews in the early 1880's. Raised in the Atherstone Union Workhouse, he found his way in life by working as a blacksmith for his uncle Charles Thomas in the Leicestershire village of Sheepy Magna. In the 1870's he was living in Kingsbury with his wife Mary Ann. Presumably he made enough money in his trade and in the pub for, by the 1890's, he had retired to a house in Hay Mills. Not bad for a someone from the workhouse, a case of the boy done good.
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The Avenue Tavern was the closest pub to the home of Arthur Conan Doyle so it is irresistible to speculate that he enjoyed a drink in here. The Scottish-born creator of Sherlock Holmes lived at No.63 Aston Road North between 1879 to 1882, a time when he intermittently worked as a dispensing assistant for Dr Reginald Hoare whilst studying at Edinburgh University. The pub was simply known as The Avenue when this photograph was taken in the 1930's. It was a simple corner building with a later ground floor shop frontage insertion, probably by Ansell's who operated the Avenue Tavern for much of its life. There was another Avenue Hotel in nearby Park Road. After a spell of running the St George's Stores in Great Hampton Row, Emily Exon moved, with her children Frank and Ellen, to the Avenue Tavern and remained until the 20th century.
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Dating from July 1961, this photograph shows the unusual frontage of the Duke of York, suggesting perhaps that the original building line was extended to that of the neighbouring properties. The pub was located on the corner of Pritchett Street. Cyril Miller was mine host at the time of the photograph. Succeeding William Piper, he was the publican between May 1958 and May 1967. The fully licensed Duke of York was an old hostelry of Aston Road. Digby Crisp was an early licensee; he was recorded here in 1818. Perhaps the name of the pub was his choice. There have been more than a dozen people to hold the seat of Duke of York since the title was first created by Edmund in 1385. The most famous surely has to be the one featured in the song 'The Grand Old Duke of York.' That was Frederick Augustus, who was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the army by his father King George III in 1795. He was forced to resign from this post on March 18th 1809 when his mistress abused her position and misappropriated money given by people in order to buy army commissions and promotions. I have seen an inn sign for the Duke of York featuring an illustration of Richard III who was King of England from 1483 until his death in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth. I'm not sure why he was featured on the sign for his title was Duke of Gloucester when he usurped the throne of his 12 year-old nephew, Edward V. It was Richard, Edward's younger brother, who was Duke of York. Known as the Little Duke of York, he was detained in the Tower of London to keep his brother company. They were both murdered after a plot to overthrow the king. A funny lot these royals. A possible influence in the naming of the pub may have been the royal visit to Birmingham by Prince Edward in 1765 when he held the title of Duke of York. It is said that he was not too impressed with the facilities when he dined at the Assembly Rooms in the Old Square. Digby Crisp remained at the helm of the Duke of York until the early 1830's when Abraham Cox took over the reins of the pub. The sons of Digby Crisp remained at the property. Indeed, silversmith John Crisp married Sarah Cox and later became the publican of the Duke of York himself. He learned the craft of the maltster, suggesting that the Duke of York sold homebrewed ales. The Crisp family kept the Duke of York until the early 1860's, after which the couple moved to Green Lanes in Sutton Coldfield whilst John Crisp continued to work as a maltster, employing a small workforce. When John Edwards was running the Duke of York during the 1860's and 1870's his father-in-law Henry Smith also worked as a maltster whilst living on the premises. However, I have not yet established if the malthouse was behind the pub or located nearby. By the end of the 1870's William and Elizabeth Maye were in charge of the Duke of York. Willaim was born around 1846 in the Devon village of Staverton to the north of Totnes. His wife Elizabeth hailed from Derby. The couple employed Esmerelda Hughes as a domestic servant and Robert Anderson as a barman, the latter originated from Liverpool and made up quite a diverse household where Brummie customers may have struggled to be understood when asking for a drink. Talking of Liverpool - one of the early large companies to operate the Duke of York was Threlfall's Brewery Co.Ltd. However, a document that turned up during a little research shows that Mitchell's and Butler's acquired the pub in January 1899 when they paid £5,277.11s.0d. to Alfred Homer of the nearby Vulcan Brewery. This sum included a substantial amount for let-offs that were bundled with the pub itself. On average, the Duke of York sold 275 barrels of beer per annum during the 1930's. Bryan Rogers was the last person to pull pints in the Duke of York which closed in 1972.
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Located in Aston Street North, the General Havelock started out as a beer house but quickly gained a full licence. The pub was named in honour of Major General Sir Henry Havelock. In today's world he would be viewed as a bit of a git. Indeed, it could be argued that the actions of such men have entrenched anti-British attitudes in modern India and the Middle East. However, leaving aside any modern misgivings for the days of Empire, I will provide a little background information on this soldier. Born near Sunderland in 1795, he received a privileged education at Charterhouse School before joining the army as an officer in the Rifle Brigade. Following a transfer to the Light Infantry, Havelock fought in the First Anglo-Burmese War between 1824-6. On returning to England, he married Hannah Marshman, a woman from a deeply religious family. Indeed, the soldier became an active Baptist and his approach to the military personnel serving under his command was somewhat zealous. Soldiers suddenly found themselves in obligatory bible classes and church services. His religious convictions arguably shaped the way in which he viewed the indigenous people and cultures of people ruled by Britain. Following promotion, he saw action in the First Afghan War in 1839. His actions in the Sikh Wars of the 1840's gained him further advancement and, by 1857, he was Adjutant-General of the British Army in India. The English press highlighted many of his actions in the Indian Mutiny in which he subdued and eradicated revolt. Leading his troops across Uttar Pradesh, he destroyed any signs of insurgency, arguably in a state of Cromwellian fervour. Contemporary reporting naturally painted him as a heroic patriot. Consequently, when he died in the siege of Lucknow in 1857, he was hailed as an example of 'military excellence and devout character.' Fuelled by the press, the country witnessed unprecedented scenes of national mourning. Inaugurated in front of "the greatest multitude of people that ever assembled," in May 1861, a statue of Henry Havelock was erected in Trafalgar Square. The plaque on the plinth reads "To Major General Sir Henry Havelock KCB and his brave companions in arms during the campaign in India 1857. Soldiers, your labours, your privations, your suffering and your valour, will not be forgotten by a grateful country." Little wonder therefore that a number of recently-erected public houses were named in honour of the soldier. Thomas Williams sold homebrewed ales at the General Havelock when he was the publican in the late 1850's and early 1860's. He kept the pub with his wife Harriet; the couple were both Brummies. His successor, Thomas Godwin, was also a retail brewer so continuing the homebrewing tradition of the house. He and his wife Rebecca had previously kept the Lamp Tavern in Lupin Street. The Holt Brewery Company was the local large brewery concern to snap up the General Havelock. I read on the Birmingham History Forum that when the doors of the dartboard were closed one could see a painted kangaroo along with "A.I.F. 1943" - the Australian Infantry Force were stationed in the locality and were known to frequent both the General Havelock and Avenue Tavern. The forum also has photographs of the 1960's Ladies Darts Team whose members included Lily Rainey, Irene Juxon and Maisey Twist. The General Havelock closed in October 1968, another victim of the clearance for the Aston Expressway.
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Aston Road and Aston Road North had two pubs commemorating famous generals - plus the Duke of York who was also a military commander. This building on the corner of Love Lane was named in honour of James Wolfe, the man who spearheaded the British forces that defeated the French at Quebec in 1759. Born in the Kent town of Westerham in 1727, Wolfe had a successful career in the Royal Marines and the 12th Foot. During the War of the Austrian Succession, he fought at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743 before being engaged in the Battle of Culloden that defeated the Jacobites. Gaining the attention of the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Elder, he was sent to Canada to attack the French at Quebec. Appointed Brigadier General, Wolfe implemented an early form of psychological warfare against the civilian population. Following an initial failure to overcome the French forces led by the Marquis Louis Joseph de Montcalm de Saint-Veran, General Wolfe ordered an audacious attack during the night in which his soldier scaled the steep cliffs, dubbed the ‘Heights of Abraham’, to completely outwit and surprise the enemy. In the battle that followed, Wolfe was wounded three times but, prior to his death, was informed of the campaign's success. The French commander died during the following day and Quebec was subsequently surrendered to Wolfe's successor Major General Amherst. James Wolfe's body was returned to England and he was buried at Greenwich Parish Church. A large bronze statue was erected close to Greenwich Observatory. An attractive building displaying splendid homogeny, the General Wolfe was located on the corner of north corner of Love Lane. Recorded before 1820 when Charles Ward was the publican, this was one of the senior public houses of Aston Road. William Lingard was the licensee by the end of the 1830's. Born in 1791, he kept the General Wolfe with the help of Maria Ryley, a woman officially documented as a char woman, though no doubt her duties were extensive. William Lingard also employed two servants to help keep the house running tickety-boo. Theophilus and Sarah Harrison kept the General Wolfe throughout much of the 1850's, a time William Smith was trading next door at the Red Lion as a brewer and cooper. Taking over the licence following her husband's death, Sarah Harrison continued at the General Wolfe until the arrival of Thomas Clulee Jr, a man from a family connected with many of Birmingham's public houses. Thomas Fisher was recorded as a 'Manager of Spirit Vaults' when he kept the General Wolfe with his wife Emily. Customers may have had some difficulty understanding William Hunt when he was the gaffer during the 1880's for he was from Devon. His wife Sarah however hailed from London. Scroll down the Genealogy Connections box to the left for more information on post-war licensees.
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BEATING A LANDLORD AND ASSAULTING THE POLICE "Daniel Young [21], gun implement maker, 2 Court, New John Street, was charged with being drunk and disorderly, and assaulting the landlord of the White Hart public house, Aston Road. Joseph Walker, gun barrel borer, 4 Court, 2 house, Price Street, was charged with attempting to rescue the previous prisoner, and assaulting Police constable Jones. Each was fined 40 shillings and costs, in default two months' imprisonment." Birmingham Daily Mail May 22nd 1871

This horse and carriage is parked outside the White Hart in the autumn of 1910. The wall poster is advertising that, from Monday September 26th 1910, Zona Vevey will be appearing twice nightly at the Gaiety Theatre. The name of Max Erard can be seen in smaller print below. This was the stage name of her husband Frederick Coupe, a Preston-born concert pianist, organist and composer. Indeed, he wrote much of the material performed by his wife whose real name was Maud Brennan. Although Zona Vevey had what many described a distinguished voice, it was her husband who was often the talk of the town as his giant organ was so colossal it required up to eight lorries to transport around the country when he was on tour. The Gaiety Theatre incidentally has a pub connection because it started life as a music hall next to the Rodney Inn on Coleshill Street. This photograph affords a glimpse of the old White Hart, a building located on the north-west side of Aston Road at the junction of Bracebridge Street, the latter hopefully named after Charles Holt Bracebridge and not his father, the profligate idiot Abraham Bracebridge, who had married Mary Holte and brought the family to ruin. Featuring an etched glass pane with a hart depicted and a large lantern overhead, the door here was the entrance to the smoke room. The pilasters are rather ornate, suggesting some expenditure on fixtures and fittings. A small building can be seen to the left - possibly a small brewery? William and Louisa Adams were mine hosts in 1860. The couple had previously kept the Cross Guns in Lancaster Street. William Adams was born in Uttoxeter around 1811 but Louisa was a local woman. Her two daughters Rosina and Julia worked in the White Hart as barmaids, probably a key attraction to the customers. When William Adams died, Louisa took over the licence and continued until her death in 1877. She was succeeded by Lincolnshire-born Benjamin Turner who had married daughter Rosina Adams. Moving to the Bristol Road, the Turner family either leased or sold the White Hart to Thomas Walker and Co., a company recorded as the operators from the mid-1880's. However, the pub was later acquired by Showell's Brewery of Langley. Samuel Allsopp Ltd. of Burton-on-Trent acquired Showell's Brewery and its estate of 194 tied houses in 1914. However, the company, founded in the 1740’s, went through a difficult period before merging with Ind Coope in June 1934. The White Hart was later sold to Frederick Smith's of Aston and when the company was acquired by Butler's of Wolverhampton in 1955, the White Hart sold beers produced at the Springfield Brewery. The company in charge of the White Hart during its final years was, of course, Mitchell's and Butler's who had taken over Butler's in 1960. Overseeing much of this post-war change was Charles Jones, who was the licensee from November 17th 1949 until the doors were finally closed in 1969 when the road was bulldozed for the Aston Expressway.
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“He who has not been at a tavern knows not what a paradise it is. O holy tavern! O miraculous tavern!
 holy, because no carking cares are there, nor weariness, nor pain; and miraculous, because of the spits,
 which themselves turn round and round!”
Pietro Aretino: quoted by Longfellow in "Hyperion", bk. III, ch. II
Pub Quotations

History and Information on the Public Houses of Birmingham with Licensees and Newspaper Articles PLUS Genealogy Connections