The Broadway - Stourbridge: Pub History, Publicans, Photographs

Commissioned by Mitchell's and Butler's, this pub was erected in the late 1950's to serve the residents of the surrounding housing estate which was being laid out and constructed during this period. After all, the Cape Hill brewery couldn't let the competition take all the trade - Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries had already secured a new licence for the nearby Gigmill on South Road, whilst Bent's Brewery were mopping up all the custom around the crematorium area at the New Inn, a pub erected between the wars. The licence for The Broadway was finalised on April 11th 1958 having been transferred from the Waterloo Inn at Oldswinford. The brewery were seemingly content to sacrifice the trade from the dilapidated Waterloo Inn in order to secure increased takings at The Broadway. The Broadway later formed part of the Bass empire. Being an estate pub, and a little off the beaten track, I did not have a drink in here until the mid-1990's by which time the building had been sold to Enterprise Inns. If I remember correctly Old Speckled Hen was the order of the day at the bar. "The tale," as they say in boxing circles, "is in the tape." And the statistics do not lie. Looking at the long list of licensees between 1977 and 1996 suggests that this has not been a place that has enjoyed any decent continuity. 1991 was a particularly peculiar year when no less than six licensees stood behind the counter for a spell of serving beer to the locals. Did they not bond with the locals or did the locals not like them? The Broadway has had a few changes of ownership in more recent years. Time will tell if the fortunes of the place will be revived. © Copyright. Posted on 2nd February 2012 Images supplied by Digital Photographic Images.		1977 - 1980 David Clive Satterthwaite 1980 - 1980 John Clifford Cooper 1980 - 1983 Keith Michael Davis 1983 - 1987 Keith Roger Hale 1987 - 1988 Vera K. Watson-Jones 1988 - 1990 Robert Stephen Hall 1990 - 1991 Terence Watson 1991 - 1991 Kelvin Ronald Cope 1991 - 1991 Graham John Bennett 1991 - 1991 Anthony Gilbert 1991 - 1991 David Postle 1991 - 1992 Michael George Fowkes 1992 - 1992 Nigel Cammidge 1993 - 1993 Anthony Lewis Bacchluci 1993 - 1995 Michael John Price 1995 - 1996 Terence McCulloch 1996 - Stephen Lloyd Booth If you have a genealogy story or query regarding this pub you can contact me and I will post it here in addition to including your message within the website pages for Worcestershire Genealogy. Click here for more information on the sign of The Broadway. Welcome to Stourbridge "Fill with mingled cream and amber, I will drain that glass again. Such hilarious visions clamber Through the chamber of my brain. Quaintest thoughts, queerest fancies Come to life and fade away. What care I how time advances: I am drinking ale today.” Edgar Allan Poe		"Dozens of men staged a pitched battle in a Stourbridge street today after a coach party was ambushed by thugs armed with bricks and bottles. The street was sealed off, shops closed and residents ordered to stay in doors as police launched a major inquiry. Two men suffered serious injuries in the brawl and one was today said to be in a critical condition in intensive care. Violence erupted outside The Broadway pub in The Broadway, Norton, at about 3am as the coach party returned from a night out to find a gang waiting. Police later sealed off the road between the pub and Shenstone Avenue while they carried out a painstaking investigation of the scene. Shops including a convenience store, hairdressers and pharmacy in The Broadway were closed and residents ordered to stay in their homes while police carried out house-to-house inquiries and a fingertip search. Bricks and bottles believed to have been used in the battle were individually labelled by a team of forensic officers. Zoe Coward, spokeswoman for West Midlands police, urged anyone with information to come forward. She said three men were injured and two of them, both aged 29, were taken to hospital. One sustained what is believed to be a broken jaw and head injuries and the other man suffered serious head injuries. She said: “The Broadway up to Shenstone Avenue is closed while police carry out house-to-house enquiries and search the scene. No arrests have been made at this stage.” One worker from the One Stop store, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s like a ghost town and very frustrating. All we’ve been told is we’ve got to stay closed.” "Street Fight After Ambush" in Express and Star January 26th 2008 © Copyright. "Licensees of a Black Country pub have spoken of their sadness after they said they had to close due to the financial downturn. Jane and Keith Johnson had pulled pints of the Broadway Inn, Norton, Stourbridge, since they took over last June. The pub, in Broadway, which has played host to live music performances over the past year, is on the market for £345,000 after it closed on February 4th. "We didn't just shut the pub out of the blue. Our regular drinkers knew for a while what was happening," said Mrs Johnson. "It is a sign of the times I'm afraid but I feel if we had been supported more by the local community then maybe this would not have been the case. We had good functions but at the end of the day you need people coming in for pints every day." "Most people are now buying cans from off-licences cheaper and then places in town are open later in the nights meaning people don't come down the pub anymore at the start of a night out. It wasn't the brewery's fault that we closed either. It just happened and it's a shame that it had to go like this." Musician Bobby Johnson, who played with his Jentle Jazz band at the venue last month and had been hoping to set up a regular jazz night, said it was a shame the venue had closed. I thought we would make it a regular event and it's a good place to play at." said Bobby, 80. Retired gas works engineer, Peter Beardsmore, 58, who lives near the pub, said: "It's sad because it has always been there and is part of the community." Paul Reilly of estate agents Christie & Co., confirmed the pub had "just" gone on the market. It is being marketed as having "some potential to redevelop the site for residential use or retail subject to planning." The Broadway is one of a number of pubs that have closed down recently in the borough. The Thorns, Quarry Bank, closed last month and the Mount Pleasant, Kingswinford, closed in January leaving 25 workers out of a job. No one from the pub's owner, Enterprise Inns, was available for comment." "Sad Farewell as Inn is Forced to Call Time" by Andrew Turton in Express and Star March 3rd 2011 © Copyright. "Fears have been raised that the proposed extension of a function room at a Stourbridge pub could lead to residents being disturbed by "blaring music." The Broadway Inn, Norton, was recently sold to new owners, and speculation has mounted among people living nearby about what it might be used for in the future. The previous licensees, Jane and Keith Johnson, who took over the pub in June 2010, closed it in February and later revealed that they had struggled to make ends meet. The pub, on the corner of The Broadway and Windsor Road, was put on the market for £345,000 and Paul Reilly, of Christie & Co. estate agents, confirmed that the sale had now been completed, although he declined to reveal who had purchased the building. An application has new been made to Dudley Council by Dudley-based SEP Properties Ltd., of Stone Street, to extend the function room but not to change the use of the pub. One letter of objection, from a couple in Windsor Road, has been sent to planners, complaining that local residents have put up with years of noise, litter and nuisance from the site. It states: "There are a lot of elderly residents living The Broadway, Whittington Road. Heath Farm Road and Windsor Road who should be able to have some peace at night, not the blaring music, banging car doors, shouting and swearing and people sitting talking and smoking until the early hours of the morning." Dudley environmental protection officers have reported concerns that noise from the larger function room may adversely affect neighbouring residents. They are recommending that if the application is approved, the building should be constructed in a way to prevent excessive noise from spreading. One local resident who did not wish to be named, said: "I've seen pub tables outside but when I asked some men in vans who were there whether they were being taken in or coming out they wouldn't tell me." "It's all very hush hush, although from the plans put into the council, it doesn't look like it's to go change form being a pub," the resident added. No one at SEP Properties was available for comment." "Pub Scheme Prompts Fears Over Nuisance" by Louise Jew in Express and Star October 17th 2012 © Copyright.		Worcestershire Places Abberley Alvechurch Astwood Bank Belbroughton Bewdley Birlingham Bournheath Bredon Bretforton Broadway Bromsgrove Catshill Chaddesley Corbett Churchill Cleeve Prior Clent Cookley Cradley Dodford Droitwich Dudley Eckington Elmley Castle Evesham Far Forest Feckenham Great Witley Hagley Halesowen Hallow Hanley Castle Hartlebury Harvington Inkberrow Kempsey Kidderminster Knightwick Langley Lye Malvern Martley Netherton Oldbury Oldswinford Ombersley Pedmore Pensax Pershore Powick Quinton Redditch Romsley Stone Stourbridge Stourport Tardebigge Tenbury Wells Upton-on-Severn Wollaston Wolverley Worcester

Commissioned by Mitchell's and Butler's, this pub was erected in the late 1950's to serve the residents of the surrounding housing estate which was being laid out and constructed during this period. After all, the Cape Hill brewery couldn't let the competition take all the trade - Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries had already secured a new licence for the nearby Gigmill on South Road, whilst Bent's Brewery were mopping up all the custom around the crematorium area at the New Inn, a pub erected between the wars.

The licence for The Broadway was finalised on April 11th 1958 having been transferred from the Waterloo Inn at Oldswinford. The brewery were seemingly content to sacrifice the trade from the dilapidated Waterloo Inn in order to secure increased takings at The Broadway.

The Broadway later formed part of the Bass empire. Being an estate pub, and a little off the beaten track, I did not have a drink in here until the mid-1990's by which time the building had been sold to Enterprise Inns. If I remember correctly Old Speckled Hen was the order of the day at the bar.

"The tale," as they say in boxing circles, "is in the tape." And the statistics do not lie. Looking at the long list of licensees between 1977 and 1996 suggests that this has not been a place that has enjoyed any decent continuity. 1991 was a particularly peculiar year when no less than six licensees stood behind the counter for a spell of serving beer to the locals. Did they not bond with the locals or did the locals not like them?

The Broadway has had a few changes of ownership in more recent years. Time will tell if the fortunes of the place will be revived.
© Copyright. Posted on 2nd February 2012
Images supplied by Digital Photographic Images.

1977 - 1980 David Clive Satterthwaite
1980 - 1980 John Clifford Cooper
1980 - 1983 Keith Michael Davis
1983 - 1987 Keith Roger Hale
1987 - 1988 Vera K. Watson-Jones
1988 - 1990 Robert Stephen Hall
1990 - 1991 Terence Watson
1991 - 1991 Kelvin Ronald Cope
1991 - 1991 Graham John Bennett
1991 - 1991 Anthony Gilbert
1991 - 1991 David Postle
1991 - 1992 Michael George Fowkes
1992 - 1992 Nigel Cammidge
1993 - 1993 Anthony Lewis Bacchluci
1993 - 1995 Michael John Price
1995 - 1996 Terence McCulloch
1996 - Stephen Lloyd Booth

Bass - Our Finest Ale since 1777

Bass Pale Ale in a Bottle

If you have a genealogy story or query regarding this pub you can contact me and I will post it here in addition to including your message within the website pages for Worcestershire Genealogy.

Click here for more information on the sign of The Broadway.

Welcome to Stourbridge

Hurra! Bier!

Edgar Allan Poe
"Fill with mingled cream and amber, I will drain that glass again. Such hilarious visions clamber Through the chamber of my brain. Quaintest thoughts, queerest fancies Come to life and fade away. What care I how time advances: I am drinking ale today.”
Edgar Allan Poe

"Dozens of men staged a pitched battle in a Stourbridge street today after a coach party was ambushed by thugs armed with bricks and bottles. The street was sealed off, shops closed and residents ordered to stay in doors as police launched a major inquiry.

Two men suffered serious injuries in the brawl and one was today said to be in a critical condition in intensive care.

Violence erupted outside The Broadway pub in The Broadway, Norton, at about 3am as the coach party returned from a night out to find a gang waiting.

Police later sealed off the road between the pub and Shenstone Avenue while they carried out a painstaking investigation of the scene. Shops including a convenience store, hairdressers and pharmacy in The Broadway were closed and residents ordered to stay in their homes while police carried out house-to-house inquiries and a fingertip search.

Bricks and bottles believed to have been used in the battle were individually labelled by a team of forensic officers. Zoe Coward, spokeswoman for West Midlands police, urged anyone with information to come forward. She said three men were injured and two of them, both aged 29, were taken to hospital. One sustained what is believed to be a broken jaw and head injuries and the other man suffered serious head injuries. She said: “The Broadway up to Shenstone Avenue is closed while police carry out house-to-house enquiries and search the scene. No arrests have been made at this stage.”

One worker from the One Stop store, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s like a ghost town and very frustrating. All we’ve been told is we’ve got to stay closed.”
"Street Fight After Ambush"
in Express and Star January 26th 2008
© Copyright.

"Licensees of a Black Country pub have spoken of their sadness after they said they had to close due to the financial downturn. Jane and Keith Johnson had pulled pints of the Broadway Inn, Norton, Stourbridge, since they took over last June.

The pub, in Broadway, which has played host to live music performances over the past year, is on the market for £345,000 after it closed on February 4th.

"We didn't just shut the pub out of the blue. Our regular drinkers knew for a while what was happening," said Mrs Johnson. "It is a sign of the times I'm afraid but I feel if we had been supported more by the local community then maybe this would not have been the case. We had good functions but at the end of the day you need people coming in for pints every day."

"Most people are now buying cans from off-licences cheaper and then places in town are open later in the nights meaning people don't come down the pub anymore at the start of a night out. It wasn't the brewery's fault that we closed either. It just happened and it's a shame that it had to go like this."

Musician Bobby Johnson, who played with his Jentle Jazz band at the venue last month and had been hoping to set up a regular jazz night, said it was a shame the venue had closed. I thought we would make it a regular event and it's a good place to play at." said Bobby, 80.

Retired gas works engineer, Peter Beardsmore, 58, who lives near the pub, said: "It's sad because it has always been there and is part of the community."

Paul Reilly of estate agents Christie & Co., confirmed the pub had "just" gone on the market. It is being marketed as having "some potential to redevelop the site for residential use or retail subject to planning."

The Broadway is one of a number of pubs that have closed down recently in the borough. The Thorns, Quarry Bank, closed last month and the Mount Pleasant, Kingswinford, closed in January leaving 25 workers out of a job.

No one from the pub's owner, Enterprise Inns, was available for comment."
"Sad Farewell as Inn is Forced to Call Time"
by Andrew Turton in Express and Star
March 3rd 2011
© Copyright.

"Fears have been raised that the proposed extension of a function room at a Stourbridge pub could lead to residents being disturbed by "blaring music."

The Broadway Inn, Norton, was recently sold to new owners, and speculation has mounted among people living nearby about what it might be used for in the future. The previous licensees, Jane and Keith Johnson, who took over the pub in June 2010, closed it in February and later revealed that they had struggled to make ends meet.

The pub, on the corner of The Broadway and Windsor Road, was put on the market for £345,000 and Paul Reilly, of Christie & Co. estate agents, confirmed that the sale had now been completed, although he declined to reveal who had purchased the building.

An application has new been made to Dudley Council by Dudley-based SEP Properties Ltd., of Stone Street, to extend the function room but not to change the use of the pub.

One letter of objection, from a couple in Windsor Road, has been sent to planners, complaining that local residents have put up with years of noise, litter and nuisance from the site. It states: "There are a lot of elderly residents living The Broadway, Whittington Road. Heath Farm Road and Windsor Road who should be able to have some peace at night, not the blaring music, banging car doors, shouting and swearing and people sitting talking and smoking until the early hours of the morning."

Dudley environmental protection officers have reported concerns that noise from the larger function room may adversely affect neighbouring residents. They are recommending that if the application is approved, the building should be constructed in a way to prevent excessive noise from spreading.

One local resident who did not wish to be named, said: "I've seen pub tables outside but when I asked some men in vans who were there whether they were being taken in or coming out they wouldn't tell me."

"It's all very hush hush, although from the plans put into the council, it doesn't look like it's to go change form being a pub," the resident added. No one at SEP Properties was available for comment."
"Pub Scheme Prompts Fears Over Nuisance"
by Louise Jew in Express and Star
October 17th 2012
© Copyright.

Worcestershire Places

History of The Broadway at Norton, Stourbridge in the county of Worcestershire. Research is augmented with photographs, details of licensees, stories of local folklore, census data, newspaper articles and a genealogy connections section for those studying their family history.

Worcestershire Places