Some history of the Great Western Inn on Allcock Street at Deritend in Birmingham in the County of Warwickshire

Standing a few metres from the Bordesley Viaduct, the Great Western Inn was located on the corner of Allcock Street and Hack Street. The railway line was to form part of the Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway but was abandoned when the company was acquired by the Great Western Railway. The structure has been something of a white elephant for nearly 200 years.

Here the Great Western Inn can be seen on the corner of Hack Street, a thoroughfare formerly known as William Street. This used to connect with Lower Trinity Street but that part of the street has been lost. The road bends around under the railway arches but that used to be called Penn Street. The name of the pub also changed slightly over the years. When it first opened it was known as the Great Western House.

In the above photograph it would appear to be father and son stood outside the entrance to the bar of the Great Western Inn. The snug was accessed by an entrance on Hack Street. There were two more entrances fronting Allcock Street, one for the outdoor and one possibly for the smoke room.

Birmingham : Map extract showing the Great Western Inn on the corner of Allock Street and Hack Street at Deritend and Bordesley [1888]

The Great Western Inn is clearly marked on the corner of William Street, later Hack Street. Just along the street was the Allcock Street Board School, which opened for boys, girls and infants in 1875. The school was enlarged in 1887 and 1898. There was some reorganisation in 1933, the school being divided into two departments for junior mixed and infant children. However, the Infants Department was closed three years later. Attendance figures declined and the Junior Mixed Department was also closed in 1939, the remaining pupils being moved to the school in Floodgate Street School. Following World War Two the Allcock Street building was used by Saint Anne's R.C. School and Saint Michael's R.C. Secondary School.

Licensees of the Great Western Inn

1861 - Henry Jackaman
1862 - Elizabeth Jackaman
1874 - Samuel Pegg
1874 - Henry Burchall
1881 - James Greathead
1921 - 1959 Henry James Hayward
1959 - 1960 Howard Wilkins
1960 - 1961 Joseph Murphy
1961 - 1962 Ramon Jones
1962 - 1963 Joseph Murphy
1963 - 1967 Mary Kate Murphy
1967 - 1968 Bridget Flanagan
1968 - 1972 Louis Angus Flanagan
1972 - 1972 Leslie Cyril Booth
Note : this is not a complete list of licensees for this pub. The dates of early licensees are sourced from trade directories, census data, electoral rolls, rate books and newspaper articles. Names taken from trade directories may be slightly inaccurate as there is some slippage from publication dates and the actual movement of people. The listing for 1921 to 1972 is complete and accurate as these names are sourced from licensing records and brewery property books. These records are hand-written and I have done my best to transcribe them accurately, though some scribbles of the clerks can be hard to determine.

Related Newspaper Articles

"An enquiry was held at the General Hospital, touching the death of Henry Bate, blacksmith, Allcock Street. Deceased, who was 44 years of age, had lived apart from his wife for some time in consequence of his intemperate habits. On the 22nd ult. he was at the Great Western Inn, Allcock Street, in company with John Devoy, to whom he said "Jack, let's have a bit of a jig." He laid hold of Devoy, and in turning round they fell to the floor. Deceased was unable to rise again, having broken his right leg. He was at once taken to the hospital, while he died on the 20th instant. Mr. Hawkins, house surgeon, said that soon after the deceased reached the hospital symptoms of delirium tremens appeared, from which he ultimately died. Verdict "Accidental death."
"Inquests In Birmingham"
Birmingham Daily Post : February 24th 1877 Page 8