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 Bradford Street - Digbeth, Deritend and Bordesley |
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Pubs of Bradford Street Digbeth Deritend and Bordelsey Birmingham |
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Bradford Street is perhaps one of the thoroughfares that best exemplifies the decline of Birmingham's city centre boozers. At one time Bradford Street had close to twenty watering holes. Today there are just two pubs - the White Swan doesn't count - historically, it belongs to Birchall Street. Bradford Street is named after Henry Bradford. The map extract below is from Thomas Hanson's map drawn in 1778. This highlights Henry Bradford's Warner Fields Estate from the Rea to Bordesley. Warner Street marked the limit of the estate. Note how at the other end of the estate Bradford Street ends at the river - the watercourse not only represented a physical barrier but marked the limit of both the estate and the parish boundary. The estate lies in Aston whereas the other side of the Rea was in Birmingham and largely owned by Sir Thomas Gooch of Benacre Hall in Suffolk. Henry Bradford, on the other hand, lived on the land he owned. It was situated up towards Bordesley close to the adjoining Ravenhurst Estate. Henry's son, Samuel is famous for his plan of Birmingham drawn in 1751. The son of Yeoman Francis Bedford of Wigginshill, Sutton Coldfield, Henry Bradford was a Quaker timber merchant. Born on October 29th 1698, he first lived at The Square in Ashted when he made Birmingham his home. However, he moved out to the Warner Fields Estate which he had inherited from his mother Hannah Fentham. Samuel Bradford was born on April 11th 1725 and became a surveyor. His plan of the Ravenhurst Estate is his first known work. Land along Bradford Street was donated by Henry Bradford in 1767 to anyone willing to establish a trade there. In August of that year he advertised in Aris's Gazette: "To be given gratis, some free land pleasantly situated for building on, in Bradford Street.......to any person that will build upon the said land and carry on a considerable trade there". A bridge was built in the late 18th century and later repaired with funds raised from the turnpike along Digbeth and Deritend. This, along with the infilling of the mill streams, facilitated the development of Bradford Street up to Moat Lane and Smithfield Street. |
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Though rebuilt early in the 20th century, there
has been an Adam and Eve public house on the corner of Bradford
Street and Warner Street for more than 200 years. The Adam and Eve
was built in Over Meadow, a pocket of land on the Ravenhurst Estate
owned by John Lowe. The earliest recorded licensee of The Adam and
Eve is John Robbinson who was the landlord in
1797. He chose the sign of Adam and Eve. Today, this is a
fairly rare pub name though it does have a
relationship with drinking houses because the original sinners were
incorporated into the coat-of-arms of the Worshipful Company of
Fruiterers. Receiving its first Charter in 1605, the Company
inspected all fruit and assessed any duty to be paid.
Former clerk and machinist Edwin Arnett
took over the licence of the Adam and Eve in
1871. He and his wife Caroline were the longest
serving hosts. The Langley-based Showell's brewery acquired the
lease in the late 19th century. They were taken over by
Samuel Allsopp and Sons Ltd. who opted to
modify and extend the Adam and Eve in 1921.
Further alterations were carried out in 1928 and the image above
captures the building shortly after completion. The pub was badly
damaged during the war but was renovated. In 1990 Michael
O'Neill of O'Neill's Alehouse in Curzon Street bought the freehold
of the Adam and Eve and, along with his brother
Peter, the fortunes of the pub
soared and it developed a reputation as a live music venue. |
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This photograph shows the imposing character of
the original Anchor Inn on the corner of
Bradford Street and Rea Street. The picture was taken around 1901
just before this building was replaced by a new pub commissioned by
Ansell's. The company have
adverts for their Aston Ales in the windows of the old inn. The
licensee at the time was George Edwin Benwell and he can be seen
posing with his wife, Emma, in the doorway. That's one hell of an
apron he's wearing. Like his father, George was a brassfounder [the
surrounding streets had many brass factories] and he took over The
Anchor in 1901 when he retired from that trade. As you can see from
the pub's livery, it enjoyed inn status which allowed it to remain
open as long as a bed was empty for any visitor to the city. You can
also see the tram lines passing in front of the pub and there was a
stop right outside the building making it ideal for those wanting to
enjoy a really good session. The earliest document to record a
transaction for the land where the Anchor Inn would later be erected
is dated January 23rd 1787 and made between Robert Moore and Charles
Glover, a builder, painter and decorator based at 51 Snow Hill. The
first licensee of the Anchor Inn was John Bancroft. He appeared in
the 1797 Pye's Trade Directory for Birmingham as a victualler in Rea
Street, the original listed address of the pub.
Early ratebooks for what was then the Foreign and Edgbaston
Districts show that he was one of only six people that first
occupied the Birmingham section of Bradford Street. In later trade
directories John Bancroft is listed as a builder and victualler
[1803] or a carpenter and victualler [1808 Thomson and Wrighton] so
he possibly had a part in the construction
of the building. Indeed, a directory for 1791 lists a Joseph
Bancroft as a builder in Bradford Street. This was probably John
Bancroft's father. The Bancroft's chose
the name of the Anchor for their public house. Surprisingly,
although there were others, this is the only surviving pub in the
city to display the sign of the Anchor and yet this has been the
assay mark for Birmingham since an Act of Parliament of 1773. It was
Matthew Boulton, owner of the famous Soho Manufactory at Gib Heath
near Handsworth, who successfully petitioned for the establishment
of an assay office in both Birmingham and Sheffield.
Matthew Boulton, who had many friends in political office,
was an acute campaigner and the bill received royal assent in March
1773. The bells of Handsworth Church pealed triumphantly when he
returned home to Soho House. During his long stay in London, Matthew
Boulton, along with his Sheffield associates, conducted their
Parliamentary business in the Crown and Anchor Tavern on The Strand.
It was the sign of the pub that was taken for the assay marks of
each town. There may have been a coin tossed to decide who adopted
which - or maybe even a bar game. However it was decided in the pub,
since that time Birmingham's mark has been the Anchor and the mark
for Sheffield has been the Crown. Little wonder therefore that many
pubs in the town [it was not a city until 1889] should adopt the
sign of the Anchor to commemorate Matthew Boulton's furtherance of
Birmingham commerce. Ironically, the original assay office was
opened in a rented room in another pub - the King’s Head Inn on New
Street. |
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An entry in an 1835 ratebook for Aston reveals that the full name
of this pub was the Boar's Head and Gough Arms. A curiosity as the
Gough Estate was largely to the the west. Perhaps there were pockets
of land in other parts of Birmingham. Harry Gough was a descendant
of a London family who, after moving north, subsequently made a
fortune in the wool trade in Wolverhampton and they were lords of
the manor of Oldfallings. King Charles II knighted Henry Gough in
1678, some nine years after he acquired Perry Hall. At the time he
was a Member of Parliament for Tamworth. His younger brother
Richard, who was knighted by King George I, founded the Birmingham
branch of the family when he bought the Edgbaston Hall Estate in
1717 for the sum of £25,000. Harry, the sixth son of Sir Henry Gough
paid £13,600 for the remaining part of the Middlemore Estate which
included Mansell's Farm in Suffolk Street. Sir Richard Gough was
succeeded by his son Henry. He married Barbara Calthorpe thus
creating the Gough-Calthorpe estate. The Boar's Head Inn was located a little down the hill from Warner
Street and the
Adam and Eve.
I have never seen a photograph of this pub. This
1888 map outline suggests a large building with double bay windows. Wrightson's trade directory for 1825
lists Robert Potter as a victualler and engineer so perhaps he had a
workshop to the rear of the property. He rented the Boar's Head Inn
from Ann Hughes. The Hopkins family kept the pub throughout much of
the 1850's until the arrival of William and Martha Garner. Born in
the Vale of Belvoir at Knipton, William Garner formerly worked as a
porter whilst Martha hailed from Portsea in Hampshire. Following
William's death, she moved to Chelsea in West London. William
Manton
was licensee during the late 1860's and was succeeded by Charles
Shum. Born in Surrey, the son of a curate moved up to Birmingham
from Somerset and took over the Boar's Head Inn with his young wife
Ann. The couple later moved to Handsworth and raised a large family
whilst Charles worked as an insurance agent. In the mid-1870's John
and Maria Marshall moved to the Boar's Head Inn after a short spell
running the
Atlantic Tavern in Bissell Street. John Marshall was
originally from Portsmouth where his father served in the Royal
Marines. He first worked as an engine driver when he moved to
Birmingham. John Day was the owner of the Boar's Head Inn during the
mid-1880's when William Gollings was the licensee. Born in
Buckinghamshire, he had previously worked as a fireman whilst living
at the
Fountain Tavern in Heath Mill Lane, a
beer house
that was
kept by his parents Shadrach and Ann Gollings.
William paid John Day
the annual rent of £31.0s.0d. for the Boar's Head Inn which was
detailed as a licensed public house, brewhouse, stable and premises.
At the turn of the 20th century Ann Mayer was mine host at the
Boar's Head Inn. By this time the pub was operated by
Holder's Brewery. A ratebook compiled in 1901 has Ann Mayer's name crossed
out and replaced with that of Joseph Wheeler. The Wonder in Brearley
Street is also inserted, suggesting that this is where Ann Mayer
moved to. However, the census conducted in the same year records the
widow at the
Lord Nelson Tavern in Thorpe Street. Born in Spondon in
1851, she had previously run the Corporation Hotel in
Derby with her
husband John who was also a horse dealer. I have not ascertained an
exact date for the closure of the Boar's Head Inn but it does seem
to disappear from trade directories after 1920 so perhaps this was
the year that it folded. |
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This map surveyed in
1887-8 and revised in 1902 shows the locations of both the Cup Inn
and White Lion. I have marked the White Lion but the pub had
gone by the 1870's. The property was later used as a Japanning
works. Both pubs were on the southern side of Bradford Street
between Alcester Street and Moseley Road. The large Ravenhurst Works
was almost opposite - I have marked this on the map. I have also
indicated Courts 11 and 13; the area was once packed with
back-to-backs amid the heavy industry conducted in this part of
Birmingham. Renting the property from Ann Hughes, John Spicer was
the licensee in 1835.
When George Reynolds was the licensee the pub was listed as the
Golden Cup Inn. In the mid-19th century the Cup Inn was run
for many years by Thomas and Elizabeth Harper. Born around 1818 in
Worcester, Thomas Harper was also a carpenter. Elizabeth Harper
hailed from Ludlow. The building was owned by J.M.Brown in the
mid-1880's. William Matthews rented the property and was licensee of
the pub. It was around 1901 that
Mitchell's and Butler's
acquired the Cup Inn from Herbert Gray and George Edward Loxton.
Ernest Woodgate was the manager of the pub at this time. By the end
of the Edwardian era Alice Boswell was the publican. At this time
the annual rateable value of the house was £55.0s.0d.
Alice Boswell paid rates of £7.4s.11d.
on behalf on the Cape Hill brewery. The Cup Inn lasted until the
early 1930's when this section of Bradford Street was redeveloped
with large factory units. |
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This pub is, more often than
not, associated with Moat Lane and Smithfield Street but it did have
Bradford Street house numbers 345-6. The Drovers' Arms was close to
the site of the Manor House of Birmingham. Moat Lane and Moat Row
serves to remind that a ditch protected this ancient seat. This was
fed by some of Digbeth's natural springs and the watercourse flowed
into the Rea via the manorial mill from which Mill Lane takes its
name. Originally built to grind corn, the mill later produced sword
blades for the Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War.
However, this led to its destruction by Prince Rupert's forces when
they attacked the town in 1643. It was rebuilt and later converted
to a slitting mill by Sampson Lloyd II, a descendent of a Quaker
family from Leominster whose son would later co-found the famous
Lloyd's Bank in Birmingham. The Drovers' Arms was named after the
men who brought livestock to the nearby markets and slaughter
houses. These were hard drinking, tough characters that most people
tended to avoid so it would be a fair guess that very few Brummies
wandered into the Drovers' Arms and shouted "sheep shaggers" at the
blokes propping up the counter. The photograph to the left was taken
around 1902; the pub can be seen behind the rag market held where
Smithfield Street meets Moat Row. The Upton family kept the Drovers'
Arms in the early-mid 19th century. Thomas Upton was the licensee in
the 1840's and, following his death, was succeeded by
Tamworth-born wife Sophia. She was helped by
her children; Thomas, Sophia, Elizabeth and Louisa all worked as
waiters. Joseph, another son, was a hay dealer. Sophia's daughter
Louisa married Devon-born former butcher
and railway detective Henry Mitchell who later took over the licence
of the Drovers' Arms. The couple later kept the Fighting Cocks in
Moseley. In the mid-late 19th century the Drovers' Arms was owned by
the maltster George James. He operated the maltings located next to
the
King William IV further up Bradford Street.
He was the son of George James, also a maltster who once traded as a
beer retailer in Heath Mill Lane after moving from Upper Trinity
Street. George James sold the Drovers' Arms to
Mitchell's and Butler's
and moved with his wife Emma to Stonehurst on the Coventry Road at
Yardley, close to the New Inn. In 1901 the Drovers' Arms value was
considerable and the Cape Hill brewery were hammered
£27.15s.4d. for the annual rates plus a further
3s.6d. for an advertising station.
As a Bass house, the Drovers' Arms remained a popular watering hole
in the markets area until 1973 when it was closed in order to
redevelop this part of Birmingham. Harry Reeder was the last
licensee. |
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This pub also traded for some
years as the Postage Stamp. The
pub was on the south-west corner of Rea Street. Consequently, the
beer house was directly opposite the Anchor Inn. In 1845 the site
was occupied by the butcher George Daft.
However, by the end of the decade Solomon Richards was listed as a
beer retailer and horse dealer at this address. He had earlier run
another
beer house next to the Birmingham Arms on Moat Row.
George Williams was the publican of the Greyhound
Inn in 1890. His family lived in a nearby back-to-back from where
his father worked as a button maker. George Williams kept the
beer house with his wife Mary. They were tenants of Edwin Grimley
who owned a lot of property in Bradford Street. George and Mary
Williams had a young daughter
called Alice.
Ansell's secured the lease of the Greyhound in 1897. Frederick
and Mary Ward were running the pub at the turn of the 20th century.
However, Mary Glover was recorded as publican when the rates were
assessed in 1901. |
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The Hope and Anchor was a short-lived beer house located in Bradford Street. |
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The King William IV was
located on the south side of Bradford Street between Birchall Street
and Lombard Street. The pub can be seen on this map extract dated
1886. The building was close to the Britannia Iron Foundry from
which Isaac Marshall & Sons traded. There was a maltings located
behind the
beer house. At the time of this plan it
was operated by George James & Son who owned the Drovers' Arms
further down the street at Smithfield. The Miles family were running
the malthouse and kiln in the mid-1830's. Originally known as the
Royal William,
this pub was named in honour of the third son of George III and
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, William IV was also known as the
Sailor King. Born in 1765, he married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen in
1818. He served in the navy from the age of 13 until he was 25. In
the following year, 1791, he began his long liaison with the actress
Dorothea Jordan by whom he eventually had ten illegitimate children.
The two children he had with his wife Adelaide both died in infancy.
He was succeeded by his niece, Victoria.
Coleshill-born Sarah Husband was a widow by
the age of 32 when she was running the King William IV in 1861. A
decade later the pub was kept by Richard and Maria Blackwell. Born
in Peterborough around 1819, Richard Blackwell had previously worked
as a butler in service to Henry William Wilson, 11th Lord Berners at
Keythorpe Hall in
Leicestershire and who held the office of
Deputy Lieutenant of that county. Richard Blackwell had previously
worked in a similar position at Oxton Hall in
Nottinghamshire. After a spell running the
King William IV he retired to a cottage in the
Oxfordshire hamlet of North Leigh. In 1881
Richard Blackwell was the publican. He was the son of a boatsman and
born in Ansty around 1840. He moved to Birmingham at a young age and
worked in a number of jobs before taking over the licence of the
King William IV which he kept with his wife Elizabeth. At this
time the building was owned by Edward Taylor. An Aston ratebook
documented the property as a
retail beerhouse, brewhouse and premises.
By the end of the century Nottingham-born John
Loverseed was the publican. It was around this period that
Holder's Brewery
added
the King William IV to their estate of tied houses.
The King William IV closed in 1914. |
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When this pub was opened by Scottish and Newcastle in 1976 it was known as The Mercat Cross. The name seems to have been shortened when it was acquired by Ansell's. Mercat is a word that has become obsolete in the English language. The Latin word for 'goods to be sold' is Merx. Mercãrï is derived from this which is the verb for 'buy'. The combination of the two produced Marcãtus which became Mercat in medieval times. |
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This was a short-lived beer house located at No.128 Bradford Street. This was a few doors down from the Shepherd's Rest on the corner of Moseley Road. James and Anne Tyler kept the place in the early 1860's. Born in Ledbury around 1836, James Tyler also worked as a tallow chandler. The site was redeveloped in the 1860's and by the end of the decade Nos.123-131 was occupied by Knight, Merry and Davies who owned a tin plate and japanning works here. |
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Here you can see the Queen's
Arms hemmed in by the large Rolling Mills and the Patent Enamel
Company, the latter were manufacturers of enamelled advertising
signs. Smaller industrial firms were right next to the pub. Adjacent
to the
beer house was the fire iron makers William Turner and Sons. These
properties were on the north side of Bradford Street between Rea
Street and Birchall Street. The name of this pub may provide
a clue to its opening date. It was named after Queen Victoria,
the only child of King
George III's fourth son, Edward, Duke of Kent, and Victoria Maria Louisa
of Saxe-Coburg, sister of Leopold, king of the Belgians. Born in
Kensington Palace, she was crowned following the death of her uncle
William IV in 1837. She married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and
Goth in 1840. They had nine children. Well, what else is there to do
in Balmoral when it's raining? Richard and Martha
Kinman were mine hosts at the Queen's Arms in 1841. Richard Kinman
also worked as a carpenter. He had close competition because Charles
Padmore was also documented as a retail brewer just a few doors
away. Richard Kinman was succeeded by his son Thomas who worked in a
similar field as a wood turner. Born in Knowle around 1822 he kept
the Queen's Arms with his wife Sarah. They had married early and
initially set up home together in Belmont Row. By 1860 George and
Betsy Taylor were running the Queen's Arms. The former machinist and
his wife had earlier lived in Warner Street. The couple later moved
to the
Roebuck Inn at Lower Hurst Street.
In an Aston ratebook complied in 1886 the William Froggatt-owned
Queen's Arms was recorded as a retail beerhouse, brewhouse, workshop
and premises. Harry Field was the licensee who paid the annual rates
of 14s.3d. |
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The Royal George was located on the northern side of Bradford Street, a couple of doors from the corner of Birchall Street. I have marked the pub, along with the original White Swan, on this extract from a plan dated 1888. The Royal George was a beer house that first opened in the 1830's. It is a popular name for a pub and, in this case, probably commemorated King George IV who died in 1830. Some pubs named after this monarch are also called the Prince Regent. In the mid-1840's John Phillips was the licensee. He was also a maltster, suggesting that he was producing the beers sold on the premises. Indeed, in the late 1860's Edward Lea was recorded as a retail brewer so it would seem this was for some time a homebrew house. Born in Birmingham in 1830, Edward Lea kept the Royal George with his Gloucestershire-born wife Ann. George and Mary Holmes were running the pub in the early-mid 1880's. Born in the Shropshire town of Madeley, George Holmes had moved to Bi | ||