Breweries from outside the Midlands region are included as, particularly nowadays, beers from other parts of the country are sold across the counters in the Midlands. The section is growing as more images are obtained - not all relevant to the area but, hey, I love beer and it's great fun.

Statto Corner 130 Pages 145,885 Words 190 Pubs Featured 482 Pub Photographs 78 Breweries Featured 51 Brewery Photographs 96 Other Photographs 115 Inn Signs 109 Beer Labels 114 Pumpclips 22 Maps 15 Building Plans

Pubs of Oldbury Worcestershire

Oldbury may not be the prettiest of towns but for imbibers it is very interesting. At one time there was seemingly a boozer on every corner, a reminder of how much industrialisation impacted on the area - where there were factory workers there were plenty of pubs. The town developed rapidly during the industrial revolution and was once packed with iron and steel works, blast furnaces, brick works and collieries, the workers from which would all have piled into the pubs for a well-earned pint [or quart!] of ale brewed on the premises.

"Robbery of a person at Oldbury"... Esther Kitely, aged 34, labourer, was indicted for stealing £4.10s.0d. from the person of William Hare, at Oldbury, on the 14th of December. Mr Godson prosecuted - William Hare met with Esther Kitely in Freeth Street on the evening of the day in question, and whilst he was in her company he asserted the robbery took place - she maintained that she was not in company with Hare on that evening, but was in the Albion Inn with a few friends. The jury found her guilty. She pleaded guilty to a previous conviction for felony, and in 1871 and 1873 she was indicted for stealing from the person. Sentenced to twelve calendar months imprisonment; and the learned Vice Chairman stated that the Court would mark its sense of the conduct of the prosecutor by disallowing his personal expenses. County Express 9th January 1875

The population of the town in 1840 was 6,752 but they supported over seventy taverns and beer houses suggesting that the people of Oldbury were fierce drinkers. The sad fact is that less than twenty of the pubs remain today. But then, Oldbury is very different town in the 21st century. Like other parts of the Black Country, many of the pubs in Victorian Oldbury were homebrew houses in the early part of the 19th century. However, there were a number of larger brewery concerns that started to supply a number of pubs and develop tied estates. These included the British Queen Brewery, the Arden Grove Brewery and the Crosswells Brewery operated by Showell's. The Sadler family also operated a small estate of boozers.

Oldbury is, as a local colloquialism implies, as old as the hills. It was referred to in the Domesday survey of 1086 as Ealdenbyrig which means 'old burgh.' Yet, for much of the last millennium it formed part of the Manor of Halas [Halesowen]. As such, the town was a peculiar part of Shropshire. It has since been a detached part of Worcestershire and is now within the county of West Midlands. The town prospered in the industrial revolution and was eventually given a charter in 1935. However, it has since lost its autonomy and forms part of the larger Sandwell Council. For those who can remember Oldbury in the 1970's, the changes in the town centre will make you weep. Many of the historic buildings have been demolished in the name of supposed progress. The once impressive town square has been diluted with the banal modernity of the vast council offices [possibly the largest autocratic block on the planet] and a large supermarket. The addition of an ogee-capped tower on the latter fails to salvage a wretched blot on the landscape.

The retail park built next to the supermarket has ripped the commercial heart out of the old town centre which has been left to decay. Try standing next to the war memorial and visualising what the square may have once looked like. It really was quite grand with imposing Victorian buildings, a large hotel and an enclosed garden where the traffic roundabout now stands. One building which has been spared is the old red brick library designed by the West Bromwich firm of Wood and Kendrick and built in the 1890's. The building features a corner tower which Nikolaus Pevsner described as being in 'a vaguely Norman-Shaw 1630-50-style.' The books have since been moved to the Old Court House in Church Street, a building erected in  1816 and still used as a magistrates court until recent years. The building was also used as a Police Station until a new purpose-built station was constructed in low town. Church Street still has a few historic buildings and, of course, the splendid-looking Waggon and Horses. The oldest building in the street is the solicitors offices on the opposite side of the road from the library. Known as 'The Big House' it has the date of 1705 above the doorway which features a curly pediment. However, it is thought that other parts of the fabric are even older.

Most of the Georgian square around Christchurch survives and allows the visitor to picture how Oldbury looked following the town's new-found wealth of the industrial revolution. Looking a bit tatty these days, it must have appeared rather fine in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The houses were probably occupied by the owners of the town's factories. Even the church has passed its sell-by date and is largely now used as a office complex. The red-brick construction was built in 1840. Facing the church is a building with a story behind it. Pictured here is the first branch of Lloyd's Bank to be opened outside Birmingham. In fact, they were persuaded to provide banking services in Oldbury by Albright and Wilson, a large chemical factory who had tired of having their wages vehicle being robbed when travelling from the bank in the city. Proving that there is no sentiment in banking these days, Lloyd's have closed the branch in favour of another property on the opposite corner.

Oldbury has produced a fair number of famous musical personalities including Sir John Frederick Bridge who was the organist at Westminster Abbey between 1875 and 1918. He was the chief musician at the Coronations of King Edward VII and King George V. The gifted violinist Theodore Pearsall was born in Popes Lane. After studying at the London Academy of Music, he was spotted by Charles Halle who recommended he studied under Professor Joachim in Berlin where he died tragically young. Although buried in Berlin, a memorial was erected in the churchyard at Oldbury. Jack Judge, a fishmonger of Low Town, co-composed one of the most famous tunes of all-time "It's a Long Way to Tipperary." He died in 1938 and is buried at Rood End Cemetery. With so many factories centred in Oldbury at the height of the industrial revolution, it was inevitable that a network of canals were cut so that finished goods could be transported to other regions. In fact, Oldbury is enclosed by the Birmingham Canal and several smaller branches so that you have to pass over or under a waterway to get to the town centre. Indeed, the canal which opened in 1722, became known as The Oldbury Loop. It means that you can find a peaceful retreat to walk along when visiting. In fact, it is a good way to head off to Langley Green to sample the pubs of that area. The walk will take you along Oldbury Locks known locally as Jim Crow Locks and the former maltings of Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries. The maltings date back to the 1880's and were first built by Showell's Brewery. They were one of the last maltings in Britain to use the traditional floor malting process.
© Copyright. All images from Digital Photographic Images and reproduced with kind permission.

Licensees of the Waggon and Horses c.1800 - Thomas Powell 1839 - William Green 1845 - James Green 1850 - Edward Perrins 1861 - Aaron Peacock 1871 - Robert William Tilsey 1876 - Samuel Philip Perrins 1885 - 1886 Mary Ward 1886 - 1887 Henry Maynard 1887 - 1887 Amelia Jane Nightingale 1887 - 1891 Ellen Taylor 1891 - 1891 Edward Lewis Walker 1891 - 1894 Joseph Oldhall 1894 - 1894 Harry Clarke 1901 - 1906 John Wassell 1906 - 1911 John Faggat 1911 - 1920 Alexander James Davies 1920 - 1922 Ernest Gosling 1922 - 1927 Arthur Harley 1927 - 1929 William Joseph Moore 1929 - 1932 Alfred Albert 1932 - 1932 Francis George Cartwright 1932 - 1935 Arthur Harold West 1935 - 1935 William Money 1935 - 1946 Roland Henry Biggs 1946 - 1949 Joseph Foster 1949 - 1951 Roland Ernest Griffiths 1951 - 1952 Reginald Thomas Twick 1952 - 1953 William Sandbrook 1953 - 1955 Norman Holt 1955 - 1956 Henry Grosvenor 1956 - 1956 Thomas Cemm 1956 - 1958 Richard Henry Reeves 1958 - 1961 Samuel Storey 1961 - 1962 Arthur William Woodbine 1962 - 1969 Albert Grazier 1969 - 1970 Sohan Singh 1970 - 1983 Daisy Walters 1983 - 1986 Pub Closed 1986 - 1997 Peter Rawson & Sue Burton

Though generations of Oldbury folk have enjoyed this version of the Waggon and Horses for over a century, the pub gained some notoriety in the 1980's that made it a popular watering hole for people all over the Black Country and beyond - the reason being that cask ales from independent breweries were available here long before real ale became fashionable again. Interesting beers from all over the country could be found here because of the efforts of Pete Rawson who, along with his partner Sue Burton, owned the pub in the late 1980's and early-mid 1990's. Pete Rawson kept a great range of beers whilst Sue Burton developed a popular menu which resulted in a packed pub. I came for an evening here on a couple of occasions and struggled to find a seat. When the couple sold the pub to Brain's in 1997 many feared that the successful formula would be dumped in favour of a new image. It was quite a relief to find that the Waggon and Horses changed very little - and this is down to the work of Andrew Gale.

I can remember talking to Andrew not long after he came here as a temporary manager in 2001. Cardiff born-and-bred, Andrew was enjoying his time in the Black Country but was also missing Wales. He must have formed an attachment to the Waggon and Horses because he stayed on as manager before taking over as tenant. Oldbury is all the richer for his perseverance. Andrew was formerly assistant manager of the Three Arches in Cardiff, another Brain's-operated boozer. Prior to that he worked for Beefeater at the Four Winds at Hollies Hill just outside Belbroughton. Ironically, this was just a short distance from Ye Olde Horseshoe, the pub in which Pete Rawson and Sue Burton would re-emerge in the licensed trade. Widely experienced in the trade himself, Andrew Gale also worked as a relief in pubs around the London area. He is pictured below with Lynn Harbach and Kim Horton in 2001. Other employees in that year included Wendy Evans, Fiona Thomas and Yvonne Bagnall, the latter having clocked up 16 years at the pub.

"Stealing a Watch at Oldbury"... George Smith, aged 27, hawker, was indicted for stealing a German silver watch, the property of Morris Rawlisher, at Oldbury, on the 30th of November. The prosecutor, a travelling jeweller, stated that he was showing a German silver watch to a person at Oldbury station on the afternoon of the day in question, and the prisoner came to him said he would buy the watch, and suddenly took it out of the prosecutor's hands and ran away. The prisoner was afterwards apprehended at the Waggon and Horses Inn, Church Street, Oldbury, but the watch was not found in his possession. The learned counsel for the defence wished the jury to believe that the prisoner in taking the watch was merely perpetrating a "joke". The prisoner was found guilty and sentenced to six calendar months imprisonment. County Express 9th January 1875

The Waggon and Horses is steeped in brewing history. Maltster George Thompson, founder of Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries was born in the original building in 1800. His family were farmers and maltsters in these parts nearly 300 years ago. Until very recently, the company still had a large maltings just a short distance from the pub at Rood End. The pub itself stands close to the location of the old brewery owned by the Green family in the early 1800's. The family later opened the Arden Grove Brewery in Langley, a company in which one of the Thompson family was a partner. The Green family owned the pub up until 1884 when it was acquired by Samuel Perrins. He was a descendent of the liquor merchant, Edward Perrins, landlord of the Waggon and Horses in the early 1850's whilst also operating the Cart and Horses in West Bromwich. Both pub names were very common as they were the principal means of transportation for goods; the publicans often acted as agents for all manner of commodities.

Edward Perrins was born in the Worcestershire village of Upton Warren in 1809. He kept the Waggon and Horses with his wife Betsy who was Oldbury born-and-bred. Edward Perrins did not produce the beer himself - he employed John Taylor as brewer. He and Betsy Perrins also employed Maria Bowen as a general servant. Taking things a little easier in later life, the couple moved out of the town to live in Oldbury Road where they lived off the income of a number of properties. These were in the area behind the pub which was known as Perrin's Yard and where the likes of Thomas Peasland traded as a horse dealer and Abner Wicherly ran a blacksmith's shop. By the early 1860's Tipton-born Aaron Peacock was the publican at the Waggon and Horses. He had married Oldbury lass Phoebe Wakeman in 1845 and the couple later kept the George Inn at Brades Village where, in addition to being recorded as a victualler, he was documented as a wine dealer. The Peacock's later returned to the George Inn where Aaron died in 1873. Widow Phoebe Peacock spent her retirement living in Wesley Street, a short distance from the Waggon and Horses.

Robert and Kate Tilsey was mine hosts during the early 1870's. Robert was born in Ombersley in 1827 whilst Kate, two years younger, hailed from Kidderminster. However, by 1876 the pub was being run by the Perrins family again when Samuel Perrins and his wife moved into the premises. Samuel had married Elizabeth Horne in 1850 at Kidderminster. She hailed from the Gloucestershire village of Uley. The couple had a daughter named Alice who was born in Halesowen in 1874. Samuel Perrins employed Annie Edgert as a barmaid, Margaret Williams as a domestic servant and Alfred Rose as a general servant - three staff suggests a fairly busy house. On retiring from the pub, Samuel and Elizabeth moved into a house in the former Perrin's Yard which had been re-named Waggon Yard. However, following Samuel's death, Elizabeth and her daughter Alice moved to a house in Bloxcidge Street in Langley Green. Ownership of the Waggon and Horses passed to Mary Ward who quickly sold it to Fulford's Aston-based brewery during the following year.

The Fulford family's brewing interests were absorbed into the Holt Brewery, a company created in February 1887 by Henry Fulford. Production was based at Holt Street. A number of managers were appointed to run the Waggon and Horses before the arrival of Birmingham-born Ellen Taylor in the late 1880's. A widow by the age of 38, she lived on the premises with her four children Mary, Ethel, Harry and Tom, the latter later moving to the Northgate Hotel in Gloucester which was run by his aunt Annie Lowe. During the Taylor's spell at the Waggon and Horses Great Bridge-born Sarah Aston worked as a general servant. Ellen Taylor was succeeded by Tunstall-born Edward Walker who had previously worked in Oldbury's Queen Street as a butter and cheese merchant's manager. He kept the Waggon and Horses with his wife Annie who hailed from Stafford.

The Holt Brewery Company rebuilt the Waggon and Horses in the late 1890's - their legacy can be found in many parts of the building. For example, a couple of etched-glass windows were still in place in 2007 and the famous squirrel trademark can be seen on the brick and terracotta gables. This trademark was later adopted by Ansell's when the company took over Holt's in 1934. The Grade II listed Waggon and Horses was a fine addition to the townscape of Oldbury in the late Victorian era. Today, it still looks wonderful. Built with red bricks, it has some fine terracotta detail and a turret window on the corner of the building. The bar is another Victorian design classic and typical of how many town centre saloons looked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The walls feature Minton tiles which look fabulous. And above these there is a painted copper ceiling. They just don't make buildings like this anymore. The counter and back bar is another superb feature - the joiner must have stood back and gleamed with pride when he'd finished the job.

John Wassell was the manager running the Waggon and Horses for Holt's in 1901. Born in Tipton in 1839 he kept the pub with his wife Lizzie who hailed from Netherton. Her mother Martha Raybould was also living above the pub well into her eighties. Tipton-born former builder, John Wassell came to the Waggon and Horses with plenty of experience in the licensed trade; he and his wife Lizzie had previously kept the Three Swans at Wednesbury and, before that, the Duke William at Upper Gornal.
© Copyright. All images from Digital Photographic Images and reproduced with kind permission.