Angel-Hotel

This photograph of the Angel Inn is thought to date from around 1870 but the writing on the right-hand bay window presents a curious puzzle. It informs the passer-by that Allsopp's Ales are on sale inside the pub. This suggests that the Burton brewery were successfully finding outlets for their products in Birmingham long before the tied house war of the late 19th century. It was during this latter struggle that the Angel Inn became an Atkinson's house. Based at the Aston Park Brewery, this company was acquired by Mitchell's and Butler's in 1959. M&B livery was still evident on the building in the early 21st century, not long before the pub's closure. It was a sad end to one of Birmingham's historic pubs. There were plans to convert the building into a restaurant, though the frontage was to be retained. The original Angel Inn probably dates from the era of the turnpike highway. Built on the corner of Stratford Road and Ladypool Road, it was right next to the old tollgate where travellers would have to pay to use the turnpike into the city. I have not researched this building in full detail so I am not exactly sure when this particular Angel Inn was erected. However, it appears to be around 1810 and would have replaced an older inn on this site. Although the plans for later work on the building have been lost, records of them have survived. A new club room was added in 1877. The plans for this addition were drawn up on December 4th 1876 by J.H.Collett. I looked up this name in the trade directories of the period but could not find an architect with this name. There is a listing for John Collett, a builder based at 59 Clevedon Road in Balsall Heath. The close proximity of this invites a speculative connection. It is thought that the attorney Thomas Mole was responsible for the construction work of c.1810. His family had owned the pub in the 18th century. Following his death in 1831, the trustees of his estate sold the Angel Inn to Thomas Phillips, a wine and spirit merchant trading in Birmingham. The Parker family were the tenants of the Angel Inn during the mid-late 19th century. Thomas Parker was born in King's Norton in 1809 and kept the historic inn with his wife Elizabeth. A measure of how busy the pub was during the mid-19th century can be gauged by the fact that they employed no less than five servants. Son Thomas followed in his father's footsteps by trading as a horse dealer. Thomas Snr. had previously run a similar business from premises close to the Coach and Horses in Upper Dean Street. Thomas junior succeeded his father as the innkeeper of the Angel Hotel and kept the place with his wife Jane. Surviving records also show that plans by Oliver Essex for 'Alterations and Additions' to the Angel Hotel were drawn up on January 22nd 1897. This work was probably commissioned by Atkinson's after they acquired the building, and included fine mosaic work inside the front porch [click on thumbnail to left for a photo enlargement]. Atkinson's Brewery Ltd. were listed as the owners in the 1906 Aston Ratebook. The estimated ground rent for the building in that year was £180.0s.0d per annum. Licensee George Chavasse paid the rates of £22.6s.3d. in full. He later moved to manage the Mermaid Hotel further along the Stratford Road. The 1896 Ratebook is of more interest because it shows the owner of the building before Atkinson's was Thomas Phillips. Actually, he died in 1876 but the Angel Inn had remained in the hands of his trustees who acted as custodians in the interests of his daughter Frances Elizabeth Wills. It is likely that Atkinson's leased the property initially. An earlier ratebook compiled in 1891 describes the building in some detail - it was listed as a Public House, Liquor Shop, Brewhouse, Stable, Loft and Premises. The ground rent in that year was £72.0s.0d. and the rates just £2.18s.8d. The increase in the rate over the 15 years between 1891 and 1906 was phenomenal, but probably reflects the absorbing of Aston Parish into the new City of Birmingham. I had to smile at the name of the licensee in 1891 - James Repton Wort. Now there's a name for a publican!! For those not familiar with the production of beer, wort [pronounced 'wert'] is the liquid produced in the mash tun and run off into the copper for boiling. It is in the mash tun that enzymes in the malt convert the starches into sugar - a process called saccharification. The fermentable sugars contribute strength and flavour to the finished beer. The freehold of the Angel Inn was purchased by Michael O'Neill in the 1980's. He sold the pub to Enterprise Inns. One could speculate that it was because Atkinson's operated the Angel Hotel that the building, with it's ad-hoc additions and alterations, survived through to the 21st century. A bigger brewery would almost certainly have rebuilt the pub in the early part of the 20th century. I guess this is the main reason why I'm disappointed with the lack of care and respect shown to the place. It was, after all, one of the most interesting pubs in Birmingham - a genuine survivor of the early 19th century.
© Copyright. Image supplied by Digital Photographic Images.

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