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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. |
